Centaur Paradise
by CrimsonWolfKo
Summary: AU-Centaurs and humans once lived together but something happened that changed everything. What happens when Levy's curiosity gets the best of her? Is what the books say about centaurs true? Levy is taking it upon herself to figure what had happened all those years ago and to see what centaurs are truly like. But what happens when she gets more than what she bargained for?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Chapter 1**

**Ok so this story is an AU revolving around centaurs. It started out as a joke between myself and my friends but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try to write a story like this so I'm going to give it a shot.**

**This story will mainly revolve around Gajeel and Levy, but with some other Fairy Tail members thrown in as well. Please read and review! (Rated M for violence, language, and possible smut in later chapters.)**

* * *

The world was once filled with centaurs and humans, living together in peace. It was said they worked together, caring for the land, teaching each other magic, and fighting side by side in battle. The first centaur to come into contact with the humans was a young and quite small being from the forest. She had very long, wavy, blonde hair with a single lock pointed upwards. Her centaur body looked like one of a small child centaur and dawned the golden color of her hair over her centaur half. Her tail was blonde and wavy as her hair, and perhaps, just as long. Her top half was covered by a frilly, pink top covering up her shoulders and back with long sleeves concealing her arms. Her chest was covered by three blue diamond patterned fabrics that went down the rest of her midriff to her waist where her golden centaur body began. With a red ribbon tied in a bow around her neck and wing-like adornments around her small ears, anyone could mistake her for a young centaur. She came to the humans, smiling and with open arms. Her name was Mavis and she ruled over all other centaurs living in the forest with her.

For many years, she came down to the villages, introducing more centaurs each time, wanting to share their wisdom with the humans. Humans at that time were suffering for they couldn't figure out how to keep their crops from dying or their livestock protected from predators. Mavis had met with the human council and together they all had decided to have centaurs start living with the humans. To teach them how to grow crops properly, to help keep their livestock protected, and to teach certain magic's to help the land. The centaurs eventually helped train the humans for battle, in case such a thing would ever happen. Every year since Mavis had appeared to them, the humans would hold a festival celebrating and honoring the centaurs for helping them in their darkest time.

It was always a happy time at the festivals. Centaurs and people dancing together, laughing together, celebrating together. It was all that Mavis had ever wanted. She wanted there to be peace between the two different species and wanted humans and centaurs to live as one.

The happiness shared would not last long as one day, a scout entered the meeting that was being held between Mavis and the humans. He was panting heavily as he leaned forward, bracing himself on his knees with his hands. A solider placed a hand on the young scouts shoulders, asking him what it was he had seen. The young boy looked up to Mavis and the other council members.

"It's… it's…"

Mavis and the other members watched the boy, all of them holding their breath as they waited for the boy to get his words out. The guard standing next to the young scout grew more impatient by the minute. He gripped the scouts' shoulders, shaking him slightly in frustration.

"Spit it out son! What did you see out there?!"

The boy looked up, fear consuming his entire body as he spoke. "I-it's… Master Hades…"

Mavis's solid green eyes widened as the rest of the council gasped and began to talk to one another in a panic. Mavis closed her eyes quietly folding her arms over her stomach. The humans around her began to yell at one another at what they should do. They shouted over each other, some saying they should flee, to go find a new place to live, others said they should stand their ground and fight against the intruder invading their lands. A tall man stood, slamming his hands on the table as he raised his voice over all others around him.

"That's enough! All of you!" The other council members stopped arguing amongst themselves and looked to the tall man. He was a muscular man with tanned skin, with an odd looking beard. A chin curtain beard, with several lines of facial hair around his mouth shooting upwards, making it a very unique-looking. One would say the man standing before them looked one who looked almost evil by the way the rest of his face looked. Prominent cheek bones, a long and oddly shaped nose, large triangular eyebrows and beady black eyes. He spoke once more as the rest of the members began to calm down. "We need to protect our lands and what we have accomplished over these years. Mavis and the other centaurs have helped us with so many things, one of them being fighting. I believe our soldiers are ready for battle. We need to stand and fight." The man looked to Mavis, holding a hand out towards her. "What say you, Mavis? Will you fight with us? Humans and centaurs working together? Let us push back Hades and his army! Together I know we can win!"

Mavis opened her eyes slowly, peering up to the man standing at the table. Her voice was soft as she spoke. "My people have shown the humans how to protect themselves against others. I cannot ask my own people to risk their lives for something that does not concern them."

The man clenched his fists tightly as he spoke out of anger. "You made a promise to us! You promised to help! You have to fight beside us!"

Solid green eyes closed once more as Mavis stood there silently. A few minutes later, the ruler over the centaurs opened her eyes, now full of confidence and determination. "But as a centaur, I cannot break a promise that was made long ago. I will gather a small army when I return to the forest. We will fight alongside the humans."

The man grinned as the other council members rejoiced. Mavis watched the man grin back at her as the others began to talk about the battle preparations. The golden centaur turned and headed out of the council room, her long tail trailing behind her. Once outside, she was greeted by one of her personal guards. She motioned him to walk alongside her, away from the humans.

"I do not trust Ivan… I want to help these humans and keep them safe, along with our people… but something tells me he is up to something."

The centaur beside her raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "What makes you say that, Lady Mavis?"

Mavis looked straight ahead as they walked, her eyebrows crossed down angrily. "He was the only one who remained calm when the scout told us about Hades…."

The centaur walking beside Mavis clenched his long spear as he glanced back over his shoulder. "Do you think it is a trap?"

"Yes. I do. But a promise is a promise. We must fight. Just warn the others."

The centaur bowed his head to Mavis as they walked. "Of course. We will be ready for anything."

* * *

Levy closed the aged book and sighed softly to herself. She looked at the stack of old books beside her as she put her chin into the palm of her hand. "This isn't getting me anywhere…. None of these books explain why we are hunting centaurs for sport." The blue haired girl opened the book she had just read and continued to read over the dusty pages. "I just don't understand… what happened all those years ago? It says here that we were friends with the centaurs and they joined us in the battle against Hades… but after that…" Levy's words seemed to fade as she turned the page. "… There's nothing." The girl closed the book and shoved it to the stack of old books she had already read through. "Nothing here is helping me figure this out." Levy sighed as she rested her head over her arms on the small desk she sat at. She closed her eyelids halfway, covering up her hazel eyes slightly as they scanned the other books in front of her.

Her eyes scanned down the multiple books placed neatly on the desk. One book in particular caught her eyes as she looked over the books. It had a dark green binding and it looked like it had been untouched in a very long time. Levy moved the other books away from the one she had singled out quickly and opened it, immediately flipping through the pages.

"Having the head, neck, chest, and arms of a man and the body and legs of a horse, most centaurs were considered to be brutal, violent creatures. Highly known for their drunkenness and lawless behavior, these creatures have been known to take down armies of tremendous sizes. Centaurs used tree trunks and slabs of stone as weapons while in battle, along with spears and arrows, crafted from the bones of wild animals they killed. They also have a tendency to kidnap young woman, keeping them for their own personal gain, or keep them as their prisoners, raping them and eventually killing them for fun." Levy turned the page quickly, not wanting to believe in anything in the book she had opened. "Though humans and centaurs have once lived together in harmony, there are no known weaknesses…." Levy looked up in horror. "This book can't be right. There's no way the centaurs were always like this."

The blue haired girl turned her head quickly towards the library doors as she heard someone turning the handles to come in. She quickly blew out her candle as she stood, grabbing a few more books as she moved into the shadows. A tall man stepped into the library, shining a light in with his lamp he carried. He looked around the room, not seeing anyone in there but noticing the small candle on one of the many desks in the library. The man stepped inside and walked over to the desk, holding the lamp up to see what books had been searched through. The man lifted up the dark green book about centaurs, looking over the open page. Levy held her breath as the man set the book back down on the desk, lifting up the lamp and shining it around the library.

Minutes went by before the man left the room, allowing Levy to let her held breath go. She relaxed slightly and looked around the corner of a large book shelf. She looked down at the few books she had grabbed. _'I have to know… I need to know what happened to all of the centaurs… but how? These books are telling me nothing_.' Her hazel eyes glanced back towards the desk where the green book was left open. Levy bit her bottom lip and reached out for the book, closing its pages and placing it in her arms along with the other books she carried.

The blue haired girl quickly and quietly got up and headed for the library door the man had just left out of. She paused with her hand on the handle as she heard voices just outside of the room. She leaned in closely, placing her ear to the wooden door.

"Yeah I hear there's been centaur sightings nearby. We're supposed to head out in the morning for the hunt."

Another man outside began to speak. "It's just a rumor right? I thought we wiped out all the centaurs years ago."

The first man spoke again, worry sounding in his voice. "Didn't you see what was left of the last hunting party?!"

The second man spoke, slightly confused. "I thought only three came back last time."

"Exactly! Three out of ten showed back up! They said they were ambushed! All they remember is seeing red flames come out of nowhere then something else came from behind them and the one guy told me he swore he saw a black figure with crimson red eyes, like it was death himself coming for his soul! They got lucky and only had a few broken bones… but I think the centaurs let them leave as a warning not to come back to the forest…. Hell knows I don't want to go out there!"

The second man gulped and spoke with fear in his voice. "Y-yeah but it's our duty. Whatever the king and council tell us, we must follow orders. E-even if there is a demon amongst the centaurs, we have to be ready and willing to die for our land. What happens if we don't fight them back and the centaurs' decide to take over the town?!"

"Oh man! I don't want to think about that… they would probably enslave us men and rape the women. End up killing us all in the end I'm sure."

Levy's eyes widened as she listened to the men talk. '_Is all of this true?'_

Both men's' voices faded as they both headed back to their posts outside. Levy waited another moment before poking her head out from the doors. Seeing that the hallway was clear, she slipped out from the library and closed the heavy doors slowly. She made her way through the castle back to her room. She closed her door and locked it quickly, not wanting to be bothered if anyone had heard her. Levy set down her newly found books on her nightstand and crawled into her bed. She pulled her headband out from her hair, running her hands through her thick blue hair. Her hazel eyes glanced out the nearby window out to the forest below. Deep down Levy was terrified of the thought about venturing out to the forest alone, but a part of her needed to know. What were they really like? What happened all those years ago with Mavis? What happened to the centaurs?

For all she knew, there really weren't any centaurs left on the face of the earth, and all of this was just said to cover up something bigger. Levy shook her head as she threw her body back onto the bed. She let out a sigh as she looked up at the stone ceiling. After a minute, the young girl made fists with her hands in determination. "I'm just going to have to go see for myself tomorrow! I'll sneak out of here and follow them to the forest. I just need to know that there are still centaurs out there. I want to know what they are really like. If things get a little too crazy I can just slip away. I don't think they would notice a girl my size." Levy smiled to herself and rolled over, staring back out the window in to the night sky. "Tomorrow…" The blue haired girl said as her eyelids became heavy. "I will find out all about them."

* * *

Levy woke early the next morning, quickly getting dressed for the day. She decided to wear something easy to move around in, just in case she had to make a run back to the castle if things got too crazy. She wore a strapless yellow bra, with a green vest covering up her back and some of her front, leaving her stomach exposed quite a bit. She pulled up a pair of white shorts, slipping a brown belt through her belt loops to hold her shorts up. Levy wrapped an orange head band over her hair to keep it back some, letting her bangs flow freely. Lastly Levy pulled on her sandals, tying them up by her ankles. She looked around her room and grabbed her small red bag, packing only a few things with her.

With the commotion of the hunt about to start, Levy was easily able to slip out of the castle through the back entrance, waiting for the men to head to the forest. She could hear the commander barking orders to his men, preparing to set out. The blue haired girl looked around the castle wall and saw the men swapping weapons and putting on their armor. Within the half hour, the men had set out in search for the centaurs, walking on foot to the forest that shared their land. Levy trailed behind a good distance until they reached the forest. She made sure to stay out of sight but still close enough to see the centaurs if they were to attack. The small girl could feel her heart pounding in her chest, finding it difficult to breathe softly. She was both excited and quite fearful of what she might see or find in this forest.

Hours had passed before the soldiers for the hunt reached the heart of the forest. All of them were on their toes, their eyes peering around, stepping quietly as they walked. Levy hid in the thick brush that followed the path the soldiers took. She watched them, occasionally stopping to scan the rest of her surroundings, taking mental notes in case things got too intense. Levy looked down at her feet and frowned. '_Ugh, my feet are totally killing me… I should have worn more comfortable shoes.' _She let out a soft sigh as she rubbed the back of her ankle. _'But then again I honestly thought we would come across centaurs by now… maybe there really aren't any alive….'_

Just as Levy finished her thought, she could hear screaming coming from one of the men. Her hazel eyes shot back up towards the small group. Just as they said before, flames had appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the men, trapping them all in a wide circle. Levy's' hands gripped her red strap of her bag tightly in fear as her heart raced. She watched as the flames increased around the men. The blue haired girl could feel the heat getting closer to the brush she hid behind. Her hazel eyes looked around furiously for any sign of the centaurs when a large dark figure jumped over the flames, landing in the middle of the circle of soldiers. All Levy could see were those crimson red orbs and a white grin before the flames grew higher in front of her.

The figure carried a long spear in one hand, pointing one end towards the commander. She could hear his voice as he spoke. "Nice of you to come visit us. But now it's time for some fun. Didn't like our last message did ya?"

Another voice could be heard from behind the first creature. "Hey! Gajeel! Take it easy on these guys this time! You know were not supposed to kill em." Levy could hear knuckles cracking in the distance as the same voice spoke. "Even though they deserve it after what they did to Jet and Droy last week."

The first figure spoke out, clearly annoyed. "Those two idiots got what they had comin' to em. They should have known better not to take on such a large group like that. And I find it annoying how we had to come save their asses."

Levy tried to peak through the greenery but the flames and smoke were too much for her to see anything more. '_I should just get out of here… those guys are trained for this kind of thing, I'm not. I don't even have magic so I'm basically defenseless! I need to leave._'

As Levy stood, she turned her body to walk away, only to stop when she could hear the sounds of the men behind her. Their screams of pain was almost deafening to the petite girls ears. She turned her head to see what had happened. The flames had dispersed some, clearing a small view for Levy to watch in horror. The first centaur that had appeared was tall and dark. He had a mane full of dark hair that seemed to go off in every direction as it formed down the back of his head. Levy could see his crimson eyes gleaming as he fought and killed the soldiers around him with his spear. Blood was flying in every direction as the dark centaur wielded his weapon. Thrusting it into the men's sides, across their chests, immobilizing others to make their suffering last a bit longer so they could watch their fellow soldiers die before their eyes.

Levy looked to the man's face that held the spear. He was smiling like a mad man, like he was getting some kind of enjoyment out of all of this. His crackling laugh as he swung his spear around the men made Levy sick to her stomach. She was frozen in fear as she watched this creature destroy the small hunting party. The small girl watched as the red blood of the men flew all around the black centaur. The fight was not long lasting before only one man was left. It was the soldier who had come into the library the night before. He shook in fear as he scooted across the hard ground, his leg badly wounded and bloody, leaving him incapable of escaping. As the black centaur looked his way, a grin came over his monstrous face. Both of the men's eyes were wide. One was full of fear and horror, as the other looked crazed and lustful for blood.

"Please… please let me go! I don't want to die!" The man on the ground pleaded as he held out a shaky hand.

The centaur took a step forward with a large, black hoof, stepping one hoof at a time towards the fallen man. Blood was dripping from his face and spear head. Levy's heart was beating fast and hard in her chest as she watched. '_I… I need to stop him... but what can I do?! I'm just a girl with a bag and books!... wait…'_ Levy's eyes widened as she looked down at her red bag. '_I have books…'_ The blue haired girl reached into her bag quickly and pulled out the green book she had read the night before. Her eyebrows crossed as she looked back at the centaur and soldier. He was inching closer to the frightened man, his spear now pointed out towards him.

Levy looked around quickly for any opening in the flames finding only one. The girl moved swiftly to the small opening behind the black centaur, praying he would not notice her. Levy held the green book tightly in her hand as it shook. She stepped closer to get a better shot from behind the centaur.

"Hey! Y-you there!" Levy managed to shout out from behind. The centaur stopped in his tracks, turning half of his body to the commotion behind him. The girl pulled her arm back with the book in hand, thrusting it forward as hard as she could towards the large dark creature. The book made direct contact with the centaurs face, causing him to yell out and growl in anger. As the centaur began to rub his face with his free hand, Levy turned and ran, heading out of the circle of flames and back into the woods. Crimson eyes glared in her direction as a grin came over the man's face.

"Gihi… looks like I've got something else to catch…. Oi! Flame brain! Where the hell did ya run off too?" Growled the centaur as he looked back around, ignoring the still cowering man before him. The second centaur walked back out from the brush nearby, a piece of meat in his hand.

"Yeah what is it Gajeel?" He said in between bites. Gajeel growled and stomped a hoofed foot.

"Where the hell did you go?! I had to take care of all of these idiots by myself." The red centaur looked around at the aftermath of the black centaurs work.

"Yeah I can see that… I told you not to kill em all this time."

"Well maybe if you would stick around for these things, and not concern yourself with your stomach so much, I wouldn't have to deal with them all _my_ way. Besides I left one alive…"

The second centaur looked down at the man who was covering up his face in fear. "Oh yeah. Didn't even notice him there."

Gajeel growled as he turned his whole body around. "Just keep an eye on him. I'll be back."

"Where are you running off to now?!"

Gajeel moved a hoofed leg outward, bending in the other to reach down and pick up the green book that hit him in the face with his free hand. He looked over his shoulder as he held up his spear. "I've got more hunting to do."

* * *

Levy panted heavily as she ran, pushing the small tree branches out of her way as she slipped past the forest trees. Her head turned to see how much distance she had covered as she ran. She was surprised to see that the centaur had not followed her at all. The blue haired girl stopped running and placed a hand over a tree, leaning on it for support. She tried to catch her breath as she rested her back against the tree now. "He probably just ignored me and went on to kill that man… and in the process I lost a very important book! Man I feel like an idiot."

"I can make you feel something else if you want."

Levy jumped away from the tree, turning around to see the black centaur grinning at her from behind the tree. His large, muscular arm was leaning against it as he watched her. She took a step back and pointed a finger out towards the beast. "D-don't come a-any closer or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" Gajeel said as he lowered his arm back down to his side, taking a step closer to Levy. He reached under his other arm that held onto the spear he had just used earlier to reveal the green book she had thrown at him. "You'll throw another book at me? Please… don't make me laugh." He said as he threw the book down to her feet. Levy looked at the centaur approaching her now, getting a better look at him. His black hair was slicked back, revealing his forehead with the rest spiking outward as it traveled down the back of his head. She found it odd how he had no eyebrows to speak of, instead they were replaced by three metal studs on each side. She looked over his eyes that were crimson orbs with black slits, almost demon-like as they peered down his nose that sported two round studs as well. He had two studs on his chin below his mouth and quite a few traveling up his ears.

Her hazel eyes looked down to the rest of his body as he walked. His human half was tanned slightly and looked quite muscular as each muscle tensed with his clenched and angry fists as he walked. Both arms were dawning four studs each with his right arm covered in large scars. He was wearing a torn up and shabby looking, black, sleeveless tunic that went all the way down his chest and stomach, stopping just where his centaur body began. As her eyes traveled lower to his centaur half, she could tell he was a tough opponent. He looked larger from the centaurs she had seen depicted in books with thicker legs, a larger centaur body and larger hooves with long hairs coming off the back of each hoof. His centaur coat was black like his hair with a decent length of tail swinging behind his hind legs.

Levy's eyes shot back up as she realized he was standing before her now, towering over her with his frame. Gajeel stared down at the frightened girl. She was shaking in fear, with large doe-like eyes staring back up at him. He could tell she wanted to run but her legs wouldn't listen. He grinned as he leaned over, getting right into her face with his blood stained one.

"Are you scared of me little girl?"

"Y-yes…"

Gajeel smirked as he stared into hazel eyes. "As well you should be. You're a smart one. Unlike your friends back there… but then again, you did throw a book at my face… that, was not so smart. So the question is… what should I do with you now?"

Levy watched him bring the bloodied spear up close to her face, lightly placing it over her cheek.

"Perhaps I should just kill you and get it over with…or maybe…" Gajeel's red eyes slowly moved down, overlooking Levy's body. The centaur moved his spear down from the girls' cheek, tracing it over her skin lightly until he reached the middle of the fabric holding her breasts in place. Gajeel's' eyes went back up to stare into frightened hazel as he began to add a bit of pressure to the fabric. "I should have my way with you."

Levy watched as Gajeel licked his lips hungrily. She mentally screamed at her body, wanting to run as far away as she could, but her body refused to move. She was immobilized out of fear and she knew this wasn't going to end well for her.

'_What have I done?! He's going to rape me, here, right now!... it's all my fault… should have just ran when I had the chance!'_

Levy's words were soft as they escaped her mouth. "Please… let me go… had nothing to do with those soldiers…"

"You know, I find it hard to believe you didn't have anything to do with them." Gajeel said as he moved the spear slightly, cutting a little bit of the yellow fabric. "When you clearly were trying to save that last soldier."

Levy's hands came up and pushed against Gajeel's chest, trying with all her might to push him away. Gajeel laughed to himself as he took her small wrists with his free hand, forcing her body back to a nearby tree, lifting her up with his brute strength and pinning her hands above her head. His face came in close to hers once again, crimson eyes thirsting for something. His grin showed off sharpened teeth as he looked at her fearful state. "Now then…" The black centaur began to say as he brought the head of his spear to Levy's cheek once more. "Where were we?"

* * *

**Shout out****: Msktk is an awesome writer and has been helping me come up with a lot of ideas for my stories. So please check out her work such as Iron Gray and her newest Gajevy fanfic, Monster. I promise they both with keep you on the edge of your seat along with some very interesting Gajevy interactions :) **


	2. Chapter 2

"Please… I'm begging you… if you kill me… people will come searching for me!" Levy pleaded to the dark centaur. Gajeel smirked to himself, and after a minute began to laugh loudly. He released his grip on her wrists, causing her to fall back down to the ground. The centaur took his spear back as he held his arms out to his sides.

"You think I'm afraid of humans?! Besides, I like seeing the fear in your eyes." Gajeel watched as Levy rubbed her wrists as she held them close to her chest. Her gaze stuck on his blood stained face. Both centaur and human looked up suddenly as the second centaur came into view, rubbing his stomach lightly as he smiled. "Hey! I told you to wait by that soldier back there! Why are you over here?!"

The red centaur rubbed the back of his pink hair as he spoke. "I got bored and told him to get out of here. Not to mention we need to get back. Erza told us to just come out here and patrol for a few hours. And I'm getting hungry again."

Gajeel growled and clenched his fist towards the second centaur as he yelled. "You never listen to what I have to say and yet you'd listen to that red headed mare?!"

The centaur beside Gajeel looked back at the large creature, fear clear as day over his face. "Uh, yeah, caz it's Erza! You remember what happened last time we didn't listen to her?!"

Levy saw Gajeel step back slightly, seeing that the memory was clearly running through the centaurs' head. Gajeel growled in frustration. The red centaur beside him looked over to Levy, a blank expression over his face as he looked down at the scared girl.

"Who's this?" He asked. Gajeel looked back at Levy as he stuck his spear into the ground.

"Just someone else from the castle. She threw a book at my face so I went after her."

The red centaur burst out in laughter as he pointed at Gajeel. "You mean to tell me a small human like her got the best of the great and powerful _Black Steel_ himself!? Oh man you've got to be kidding me!"

"Shut up!" Gajeel's crimson eyes turned back onto Levy who jumped slightly, holding her arms closer to her chest. "I still need to figure out what I'm gonna do with her."

The centaur beside him pawed at the ground with his hoof out of boredom as he moved his hands behind his head. "Why don't we just take her back with us?" Levy took a chance and looked over to the second centaur. He dawned spiky pink hair and dark eyes. He was a bit leaner than the one called Gajeel, but from what Levy could tell, he was still muscular. His wore a scarf around his neck along with a sleeveless black waistcoat with golden trim. The second centaurs' coat was completely red with black hooves. His centaur frame also looked leaner than Gajeel's' large form as Levy looked over the two centaurs' standing before her. Levy could hear Gajeel let out a low growl as he looked back at her.

"I aint putting no stinky human on my back." Gajeel said in disgust as he looked down at Levy, crossing his arms over his chest. Something in Levy began to bubble as she heard the words flow out of the centaurs' mouth. Her eyes grew angry as she stood up straight, standing on the tip of her toes to get closer to Gajeel.

"I'm not a stinky human! I have a name! And if anyone here is stinky, it's the two of you! I mean do you guys even bathe where you live? No wonder humans and centaurs don't get along anymore."

Gajeel gritted his teeth as he reached out for the girl, grabbing her arm forcefully, causing fear to flood back into her eyes. "You think that's why we don't come around you filthy, untrustworthy humans anymore?" Gajeel looked up and down at Levy once more, shoving her back to the tree. "You know nothing, Shrimp. Go home."

Levy stared at Gajeel, a surprised look over her face. "Wait… you know why we don't live together anymore?"

Gajeel raised a studded brow as the red centaur looked at Levy now in surprise. "You mean to tell me _you _don't know the legend? But you're a human. Don't they have school for your kind anymore? Man, human society really has gone downhill ever since we left em."

Gajeel grabbed his spear and turned his whole body around without another word. The second centaur looked to Gajeel then back to Levy. She looked up into his black eyes, confused and still slightly scared. "So what are you going to do?"

Levy looked away from him. "I.. I don't know. I need.. no… I _want _to know more about centaurs..."

The centaur in front of her smiled brightly as he held out a hand to her. "So then come with us!"

Levy looked at his hand, hesitant to take it with her own. The centaur holding his hand out to her continued to smile as he spoke. "You wanna know more about us right?"

"Yes…" Levy replied.

"So then let's go!" Without her consent, the red centaur quickly grabbed Levy's arm, pulling her up onto his back without much trouble. Levy nearly fell off the other side of the centaur as he lifted her up with his arm and before she could say anything, the centaur was off, trailing behind Gajeel at a slow trot. Levy struggled to stay on the centaurs back as he trotted through the forest. She quickly found her arms wrapped around the centaurs human half of his body as she bounced lightly on his back. The centaur glanced back at Levy as he trotted, smirking at her. "Haven't you ever ridden a horse before?"

"Believe it or not, no I haven't! Just because I live in the castle doesn't mean I get to ride horses in my spare time!"

Gajeel scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Big surprise. A castle brat that doesn't know how to ride a horse. Probably too busy learning how to dance and learning to be a proper young lady."

Levy glared at the black centaur now just a few steps before her and the second centaur. "How would you know what I learn back there?!"

Gajeel turned his body towards the second centaur who had caught up to him, stomping his large hoof into the ground. "Would you prefer me to say that you rich, lazy asses kill us and our friends for fun?! Or how you enslaved us over the years after the Great War?! Betraying our trust and using us to get further in this world. What else am I to expect from a bookworm like you?"

The red centaur put his hands up towards Gajeel. "Hey calm down Gajeel. We don't even know if she was part of that or not."

Levy looked at the centaur carrying her in confusion. "What are you guys talking about? I've never heard of anyone in the castle enslaving any of you."

Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest as he scoffed again, looking away from the two of them. "Just like a brat to lie like that to save her own skin."

Levy could feel anger bubbling up inside of her as the one called Gajeel spoke. "At least I'm not some arrogant killing machine! You say that we're the ones killing you and your friends off, why don't you take a good look in the mirror!"

Gajeel growled as he moved beside the red centaur, leaning in close to Levy. "Watch your mouth little girl. I'm not against killing smart mouthed brats." Levy felt her fear wash over her body once more as the centaur stared hard into her with his red eyes. Gajeel moved away and started walking through the forest once more, grumbling to himself. Levy let out a breath she held in as Gajeel leaned in close to her, clenching her vest tightly. The red centaur turned his head as he started walking once more.

"Don't take it too much to heart… he has his reasons why he hates humans so much."

Levy crossed her arms over her chest as she sent darts towards the back of Gajeel's head. "Yeah? Like what?"

The red centaur looked back to the front, silence taken over him for a moment before he spoke. "Humans… took away our closest friends. Ones who we have grown up with since we were young. They were killed in front of us."

Levy's eyes grew wide at the words she just heard. Levy's head went downward as her eyes softened. "I'm.. so sorry. I didn't know."

The centaur looked back with a soft smile on his face. "It's ok… it happened a long time ago."

Gajeel stopped suddenly in front of the other two, his head looking around intently. The second centaur behind him stopped as well. "Gajeel… is it _them_?"

Gajeel growled to himself as he reached down on his dark tunic, tearing off a long piece of it and walking back over to Levy. The girl moved away from Gajeel as he raised his hands towards her face.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Just shut up and hold still. I'm blindfolding you." Gajeel said as he quickly wrapped the dirty and blood stained fabric around Levy's eyes, making her shudder at the thought of the soldiers blood stained on the fabric covering her eyes now. The large centaur looked to the second in seriousness. "We need to leave here now. I can hear the dogs. Sounds like _Bolts_ is back."

Levy could hear the red centaur groan. "Oh man… that guy is so annoying. And his stupid dogs are meaner than hell. If Happy were here, he'd help me show them a thing or two!"

Gajeel grabbed Levy's arm lightly as he leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "You may want to hold on tight, Shrimp. And I mean tight."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?!" Levy asked as she turned her head back and forth. The next thing she knew was the centaur carrying her had gone from a standstill to a full on gallop through the forest. She could hear their hoof beats hitting the ground with such ferocity as they ran. All she could do was keep her head close to the pink haired centaur with her arms wrapped around his torso tightly. '_What are they running from? And who is this bolts guy? More importantly… where are they taking me?!'_

"We stayed out here too long Gajeel! I warned you before we left we shouldn't have gotten mixed up with those guys." Levy heard the centaur carrying her shout out in front of him. She could hear Gajeel in front shouting back as they ran.

"Will you shut up? We've got more important things to worry about right now. And I'm not the one who wasted my time bringing back a girl from the castle."

"Yeah but it was you who went after her. Had you just let her go, we wouldn't have to deal with this problem."

"Says the one carrying the stinkin' human on his back! Why did you agree to bring her back with us anyway? You know what's gonna happen right?"

"She wanted to learn more about us. And I'm sure everyone else is going to be excited to have her. She's different than the others."

Gajeel growled under his breath. "They're all the same. Every filthy human is the same."

Levy wondered what the two were talking about as they sprinted through the forest, she couldn't see a thing through the fabric around her eyes but she could feel the atmosphere around her starting to change. "What's going on?"

Before the red centaur had time to respond to her, he had stopped suddenly and rose straight up into the air, causing Levy to fall back onto the ground with a thud. Levy could hear a loud clash just in front of them as she fell, along with the two centaurs groaning from the sudden bright light before them. The blue haired girl grabbed the blindfold and quickly pulled it down. Her eyes widened as she saw a man standing before the two centaurs. He was the general from the castle, someone who she had known her whole life and one she was not too happy to see.

"I see you centaurs have something of ours. Hand her over and no one will have to get hurt."

Levy watched as the red centaur cracked his knuckles, flames appearing over them. "She's not going back with ya, you jerk."

The black centaur stepped in front of the second and held his spear outward. "Take the girl to Erza. I'll deal with this guy."

"You sure you can handle him?"

Gajeel raised his voice as he charged towards the man standing across from them. "Get her out of here you idiot!"

The red centaur growled as he turned around to pick up Levy. As he pulled her up, her red bag strap got caught on a nearby tree branch, ripping it off her shoulders. Levy looked down as she was thrown onto the centaurs' back once more.

"My bag!" She yelled as she extended her hand out towards the bag on the ground. The centaur started galloping away from Gajeel and the general, racing through the trees.

"We don't have time to stick around here! We'll get caught up in their fight if we stay around for much longer!"

Levy looked over her shoulder as she held on tight to the centaur as he ran. "Is he going to be ok by himself? Laxus has lightning magic."

"Trust me, if anyone can take on Laxus by themselves, Gajeel is one of the best." As the centaur ran, all Levy could make out was the sounds of lightning clashing and the yells of pain from both blue haired girl shut her eyes tight, trying to drone out the sounds of pain and lightning coming from the two fighting in the distance.

'_Why am I so concerned if Gajeel lives or not? He's an arrogant jerk who wanted to have his way with me and then kill me! He clearly made his opinion about humans a long time ago, and he hates me for no reason… but still… I don't want him to die because of me. I don't want that guilt.'_

* * *

"Hey! You awake?"

Levy opened her eyes slowly, seeing the pink haired centaur close up in her face as he looked her over. She looked around at her surroundings as her vision came into better focus. "Where… where are we?"

The red centaur grinned as he moved back a bit, letting the small girl get some air into her lungs. "Well right now we're in my tent back in Fairy Tail."

"Fairy… Tail?"

"Yeah that's what Mavis called this part of the forest when she was alive. She always had an infatuation with fairies for some reason…." The centaur said as he rubbed his chin. Levy continued to glance around the large tent as the centaur continued to talk to her. It was quite a large tent filled with all sorts of things. It had looked like the centaur collected different items over the years and left them scattered all over the place. Nothing was organized at all in this place as it looked like a storm had passed right through and no one bothered to clean up afterwards. Levy could see dirty plates and half eaten bits of food all over the center table that had been raised high enough for the centaur to eat off of. Shirts were draped and scattered across the room, mostly the same color and style of vest he wore at the moment. His furniture consisted of some pillows piled up in a circle along with a small hammock hanging in between the wall and a tree that had been growing inside the large tent. Large, brown chests were scattered around the area as well, overflowing with hidden items the centaur threw into them. The blue haired girl looked to the other side of the tent and saw painted pictures hanging up on the wall. Many were of the red centaur and another creature she had never seen before.

It was a smaller form of creature, one that had half a body of a young looking boy and the other half that looked like one of a goat. He was a young looking thing, a rectangular shaped head with big black eyes and thin eyebrows. He had a blush over his face as he smiled brightly along with the centaur in the picture beside him. He had blue goat ears, legs and tail with a white tip at the very end of it. Two little light blue horns dawned over his head as well. Levy stood slowly, wavering slightly as she held her head. "What happened?"

The pink haired centaur rubbed his head as he spoke. "Well… while we were escaping, some of that jerks dogs caught up to us and well… I kinda let you fall backwards and you hit your head on a rock. So… sorry about that."

Levy felt around her head and winced slightly as she found the bump the centaur had been referring to. Her gaze looked down over the centaurs' body as he stood in front of her and his extra-large bed. He had white bandage wraps around his back legs, blood staining them slightly. Levy's eyes shot back up the centaur. "Your legs! Are you alright?"

The centaur looked at her blankly, then stared back at his own legs, lifting one up to look at it for a moment as he balanced his weight on the other three. "Yeah I'll be fine. Just a few scratches from those damn dogs."

Levy's eyes widened as she realized someone else was missing from this picture. "Wait, Gajeel…. Has he come back yet?"

The red centaur looked away as his arms fell to his sides. "He hasn't come back yet."

"Oh… I see." Levy said sadly as she looked down worriedly. The centaur leaned over and placed his hand over her shoulder.

"He'll be back so don't worry."

'_How can I not worry?! This is all my fault… I should have never gone out of the castle. But had I stayed there… that soldier would have probably been murdered. But now I may have gotten Gajeel killed…'_

"Natsu! Thank goodness you're back! I was so worried!"

Both the girl and centaur turned their attention to the voice entering the tent behind them. It was another centaur, a young girl centaur by the looks of it. She had shoulder length blonde hair with a single, red ponytail tied on the right side of her head. Levy noticed the large breasts the centaur girl had along with a somewhat curvy centaur body. It wasn't muscular like Gajeel or Natsu, and looked more feminine to Levy. She wore an orange tank top with white trim around it, with a white stripe running down the middle, splitting the tank top at the bottom. Her centaur body was a golden color with a blonde tail flowing behind her. Her hooves were a lighter shade that seemed to almost match the color of her golden coat. Her big brown eyes were bright and full of relief as she saw the centaur she called Natsu before her.

The girl centaur made her way to Natsu and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad you got back here safely. Wendy told me you ran into some trouble, are you ok?"

Natsu grinned as he hugged the girl back. "Yeah it was nothin'. Just a few scratches. But I got a few kicks in myself. It'll be a long time before those dogs show their ugly faces around centaurs again." As the two finished their embrace, the new centaur looked down at Levy, pointing a finger at her as she looked at Natsu.

"Who's this?"

Natsu looked at Levy and tilted his head as his arms came over his chest. "You know what… I never caught her name. I think its Shrimp… that's what Gajeel called her…."

Levy looked up at the two centaurs, annoyed by the name "Shrimp." The blonde centaur looked at Natsu as she put her hands on her sides. "You mean to tell me you didn't ask for her name? You just picked up a random human and brought her here?!"

Natsu turned to the golden centaur and made a fist with one hand as he pointed at Levy with the other. "Hey it wasn't my fault this girl is here right now! I mean it kinda is, but Gajeel was the one who found her! He told me to bring her back here. Plus she wanted to learn more about us so I figured, hey why not?" The centaur standing beside Natsu let out a sigh as she placed a hand to her head.

"Sometimes I wonder about you Natsu." The female centaur turned to face Levy and leaned over slightly, extending her hand with a smile on her face. "Hi, I'm Lucy. I see you've already met the idiot beside me, Natsu."

"Hey!" Natsu said, beginning to protest.

Levy stuck her hand out and took Lucy's into her own. "Levy."

Lucy stood back up with her back straight as she put her hands on her sides again. "So you wanted to learn more about us, huh? Don't you humans have a school that teaches you all about us? Maybe some books in your libraries?" Lucy asked kindly. Natsu raised his shoulders as he held out his hands in front of him.

"That's what I asked!"

Lucy glared at Natsu as she snapped at him. "Will you be quiet? I'm talking to Levy!"

Levy looked up at the two centaurs as she spoke clearly. "We do have some teachings and a few books describing centaurs and certain tales… but they seem to depict you all differently than what I've seen so far. Granite I've only seen three of you, but from what I can tell, you two are nothing like what my books said you'd be like. Gajeel might be a close depiction of what I read."

Lucy looked at Natsu and then back at Levy. "How were we described?"

"Beasts who are considered to be brutal, violent creatures. Highly known for their drunkenness and lawless behavior." Levy looked away from the two who seemed deeply confused by what she had just said. "There's more to it… but I wanted to know what you guys were truly like. I also tried to find out what happened at the Great War between humans and centaurs and most of it is how Mavis, the first centaur to make contact with humans, came into the picture and then our books just end right before the war started up." Levy rubbed her arm lightly. "I just wanted to know more about centaurs… it's my fault Natsu got hurt and Gajeel…"

Lucy smiled as she spoke to Levy. "Don't worry about these guys. They are tough as nails and can handle most situations." Lucy looked back to Natsu who was munching on something that was left out on the table nearby. Lucy shook her head in disgust. "Did you tell Erza there was a human here?"

Natsu nearly choked on his food at the mention of Erza. The pink haired centaur shook his head as his mouth was full with food. Lucy let out a sigh as she shook her head once more. "Go get Erza, I'm going to take Levy to Wendy so she can check her over for any other wounds."

As Natsu headed for the front of his tent, he mumbled under his breath. "Why do I have to be the one to go get Erza?"

Lucy's head snapped back towards Natsu as he exited the tent. "You were the one who brought her here! Ugh I swear he can be such a pain sometimes. Come on, I'll take you to Wendy so she can check you over." Levy nodded as she followed Lucy outside of Natsu's' tent.

Levy covered her eyes slightly as the sunlight shining in through the open space hit her face. Once they had a chance to adjust, she looked around the large area she had been taken to. Acres upon acres of grassy land with large trees growing all around, was surrounded by forest, hiding this place quite well. There were tents scattered all around the area with centaurs entering and exiting them. A small lake could be seen in the distance along with a wooden building next to it. Levy walked closely to Lucy as they walked along the dirt path, other centaurs passing them, glancing down at Levy with wide eyes.

Levy could see that most of the centaurs here were older with just a few younger, child looking centaurs, pointing in her direction as they looked up at their parents excitedly. _'They've probably never seen a human before… am I the first one to ever come here?'_

Levy turned her attention back to Lucy who had entered a tent, motioning her to join her inside. As they stepped inside, Levy saw the new tent she ventured into was much more organized and clean. It had bookshelves full with books, along with a small desk on one side. There were multiple large beds set up in the front, most likely for any centaur that may be injured to lay on. Levy's eyes moved towards the back and saw a blue curtain hiding another part of the tent.

"Hey Wendy! You in here?" Lucy called out as she placed a hand to her mouth. A second later, a young voice responded from behind the curtain.

"I'll be right out Lucy!"

Lucy looked at Levy and smiled, motioning towards one of the beds next to her. "You can sit up here."

Levy looked at the bed before her and wondered if she was even able to get into it herself. The blue haired girl placed her hands on either side of her body and pushed herself up with her feet onto the bed. As she turned her body around and adjusted where she sat, a small centaur came into view from the back. She was definitely younger than Lucy with her fair skin and petite size. Her hair was long and a dark blue color with two bangs that framed her tiny face. She wore a white loose fitting top with a red bow tied around her neck. Her arms were mostly covered by the same material with red trim to match her bow, as her shoulders remained exposed. The girls' centaur coat was a lighter shade of blue than her hair, and her tail seemed shorter than everyone else's.

The young centaur put her hands together excitedly as she saw Levy sitting on the bed. "Are you the human I've been heard about?! Oh my gosh! It's such an honor to meet you finally!" Wendy said happily as she made her way to Levy, shaking her hand almost immediately.

Levy looked up to Lucy who smiled back at her. "Wendy has always had an interest with humans and the way they live. She's never met one before so I guess this means a lot to her."

Wendy stepped back and smiled brightly. "It does! I've always wanted to come see a human in person but we aren't really allowed to leave without permission or if we need something specific that we can't get here."

"So… are you guys being held here against your will?" Levy asked as Wendy looked Levy over. The young centaur placed her hands over Levy's head wound and began to use her healing magic on her.

"No not at all. It's just that I'm the only healer here so I can't really leave. If they lose me, who else is going to be here to heal the centaurs who get hurt?" Wendy said with a smile. Lucy leaned in to Levy as she placed her hands behind her back.

"Not to mention, it's super peaceful here. We're hidden by the trees that surround this area of the forest and Mavis placed a cloaking spell over Fairy Tail before she died. That way if humans tried to find this place, it would just look like an animal's den that no man would venture into."

"But this place is so huge… how is the spell able to cover this whole land?"

"Well Mavis was quite powerful you know. She was the one who taught some of us the magic that we use in our daily lives."

Levy's face lit up as she heard Lucy speak of Mavis. "You mean to tell me you knew Mavis?! But that would make you…"

"Really old? Yeah I know. We centaurs age differently from humans. Kind of a weird concept to grasp, I know."

Levy began to wonder how the aging of a centaur worked when she heard a commotion coming from outside. Lucy looked to the front of the tent, worry over her face. "Stay here for a minute. I'll go check it out."

Wendy brought her hands back down to her own body as she watched Lucy make her way back outside of the tent. Levy rubbed her head where the bump seemed to go down some.

"Is everything ok out there?" She asked. Wendy looked to her and smiled.

"I'm not sure… wait here, I'll be right back."

Levy's hazel eyes watched the small centaur leave her to herself in the large tent. Minutes later she could hear other centaurs coming closer to the tent she was in. Part of her wanted to jump off the bed and hide, not knowing how other centaurs would react to her presence. Just as she was about to jump down, the blue haired girl looked up to the tent opening, her eyes widening at the sight she saw.

Lucy along with three other centaurs were helping Gajeel into the room, setting him down on the nearby circle of pillows on the ground. His body was covered in burns as other parts of his centaur body was badly injured and bleeding uncontrollably. Levy could tell Laxus had used his magic against the large centaur, allowing his dogs to get at Gajeel as well.

'_He's such a monster… getting his dogs to distract Gajeel while he uses his magic on him…. And it's all my fault.'_

Levy's' thoughts were interrupted by a centaur who had caught sight of Levy sitting on the bed.

"Does anyone else see the human sitting on the bed over there? Or am I going crazy?"

* * *

**AN: ok so I threw in the part with Levy almost falling off the other side of Natsu because that actually happened to me while I was in college. I had to take my horse back down to the pasture and we were able to ride them down to the field bareback. So I asked my instructor for a leg up to help me get on my horses back. As soon as I was up in the air, my instructor kept tossing me over to the other side where I almost fell off. Luckily he caught my leg and laughed at me as I yelled at him. It was kinda funny, not at the time, but I can laugh about it now.**

**Also I decided to call the part of the forest they are in, Fairy Tail, because 1. I couldn't think of anything else at the time, if I do I'll go back and change it. 2. It will kinda fit in with what I have planned for other things in the story. 3. I didn't want to end up using magnolia or hargeon etc. since I'm using them in my other stories atm. And 4. Who doesn't want to go to Fairy Tail?! I mean, come on…. If given the chance, would you pass it down? **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Chapter 3**

**No I haven't forgotten about this story or any of my other ones! I honestly thought I would be done with my other story so I could work on this one by now, but I've been super distracted with many a things and lately I've been inspired to write. But other things have gotten in the way and I finally said I need to post up a new chapter for this story at least. Lol so I hope you enjoy, it's not as long as the other ones, but hey it's something. I hope to continue to work on this and the other story I am currently working on. (Also I quickly read over this so hopefully I caught everything, if not I'll go back later and fix it.)**

* * *

Hazel eyes opened wide as the centaur who just spoke pointed a finger towards her, with one hand still on his injured friend.

'_What do I do now? I don't think everyone here is going to be pleased to see me… should I run? But if I run… they would definitely have no trouble catching me. I have two legs and they have four! This is bad…. I need go get out of here—'_

Levy's thoughts were interrupted by the large black centaur, his voice breaking through her fearful thoughts as he growled angrily at the centaur whose eyes fell upon the human. "Oi! Will you pay attention to what you're doin' over here with me?! I'm in enough pain as it is, I don't need ya to go and drop me now just caz you see a stupid human in the room!"

Levy's gaze turned to Gajeel in a slight glare. '_Even in so much pain, he still has the nerve to talk down about me. He so concerned about himself… why did I even worry about him?'_

The centaur turned to face Gajeel as he helped lower him down to the pillows beneath their feet. As soon as Gajeel was put down, he quickly made his way to Levy at the bed, extending a hand with a smile on his face. "How you doing? I'm Max. I've often wondered when we would see a human here again."

Levy stared into Max's dark eyes, confused and hesitant to shake his hand. He stood there patiently waiting for her hand to come into his. He chuckled after a minute and moved his hand closer to her. "I'm not going to hurt you, everyone here at Fairy Tail won't even try to do anything mean to you. Well, maybe Gajeel because he's always in such a bad mood."

Gajeel lifted his head up over Wendy who began to use her healing magic over his legs with bite marks and gashes from the dogs. "HEY! I HEARD THAT!"

Levy looked down at the open hand and slowly moved her hand to his. His grip was firm and warm. Her hazel eyes went back up to meet his. "Levy…."

Max smiled as he shook her hand. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you Levy. Are you going to be staying with us long?"

"I… I'm not sure…" She responded quietly.

Lucy quickly made her way out of the tent, mentioning that she had to find Natsu and Erza while the other two centaurs made their way to Levy's bedside as well, scanning her over as she talked to Max. Levy made sure to keep her eyes on them as well. As far as she could see, they didn't have any weapons on them, but that didn't mean anything. Anyone of them could easily take her down with their bare hands. Her thoughts of danger once again were interrupted by two hands coming up from behind her, wrapping around underneath her arms and gripping her small chest. Levy looked down with red cheeks, gasping loudly.

"Well she doesn't have much in this department… is she still a growing human?" The female centaur said from behind Levy.

The third centaur standing off to the side of Max smacked the females' hands away from Levy's breasts, leaving the young girl to quickly cover herself up in embarrassment. "Cana, you can't just go around grabbing girls chests like that. Specially a human child." The centaur said coolly.

Levy turned her head to face the centaur that just spoke. He had spiky dark blue hair with dark blue eyes. He was shirtless and quite toned and muscular. He had a scar just above his left eye that was being covered slightly by his hair and as her eyes quickly scanned over the rest of the centaur, she noticed he had a cross-shaped scar on his lower abdomen. Her eyes traveled back up to his face as her face continued to burn. "I'm not a child! I'm in my twenties I'll have you know!"

The one centaur named Cana came around to the front, leaning in close to Levy's face as she poked a finger at the part of her chest that wasn't covered by her arms. "Wow girly, someone was unkind to you. Short _and _small breasts." The dark brown haired centaur grinned as she looked into frustrated hazel eyes. Before Levy could say another word, Gajeel chimed in as Wendy left his side to get more bandages for his wounds.

"Will you three leave her alone already?! You shouldn't get attached to something that ain't gonna stay here long."

Levy looked past the three centaurs who turned to look at Gajeel laying down on the pillows. She sent a glare at him, thinking loudly so that he might be able to hear her thoughts as he stared back at her with crimson orbs. 'Something? _Seriously?!'_

Gajeel knew exactly what she was thinking and merely let out a scoff as he turned his head away from her. The three centaurs looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders and one by one, leaving the large tent. Cana looked back at Levy, giving her a smile and a wink before she exited the tent. "See ya around girly!"

The blue haired girl looked down after the three left, leaving her alone with Gajeel in the same room. They weren't really alone, Wendy was of course in the back of the tent, behind the curtain that separated this room with what Levy assumed was Wendy's room. But still… here they were. Levy kept her gaze down at the ground as her head began to pound slightly. She raised a hand to her head, tracing her fingertips over the bump that remained even after Wendy had used her magic.

"Does it still hurt, Shrimp?"

Levy's eyes widened as she looked over at Gajeel who was holding onto his arm that looked like it was burned worse than anywhere else on his body.

"What?" She said confusingly.

Gajeel repeated himself, seeming annoyed that he had to do so. "Does it still hurt?"

Levy's eyes narrowed just before she looked away from him. "Why do you care? I'm just some "_thing_" to you."

"I don't, and you're right, you are just something. You're a human that can't be trusted. You're all the same."

Levy's anger was building up from every word that left his mouth. Her head snapped back towards him as she carefully got down from the bed, storming over to his large frame. She leaned in close as she poked him in the chest as hard as she could. "YOU don't know me! I know that humans killed your friends, but that was a long time ago! You don't need to be such an asshole to me! I've don't nothing to you since we've met!"

Gajeel forced himself to lean in closer to her as he spoke angrily. "Oh and I'm sure that book to my face was you doing nothing to me?!"

Levy's mouth opened slightly, at loss of words as she stepped back. Gajeel scoffed as he leaned back down against the large pillows. "Yeah… that's what I thought."

"No, that was different!" Levy finally managed to say. "That was me trying to stop you from killing an innocent man!"

Gajeel's studded brow raised as he looked at Levy from the corners of his eyes, his crimson orbs beginning to burn. "An innocent man? Is that what you think of your beloved solider boys?"

"They aren't my soldiers to command!"

"You're from the castle, yeah? Doesn't that mean you get to do whatever you want and control anyone at your fingertips?" Gajeel asked questionably.

Levy stomped her foot on the ground as she spoke, her anger causing the bump on her head to pound harder. She could feel herself starting to get slightly dizzy. "That's what I'm trying to tell you! Yes, I live in the castle, but I don't have a high status at all! I'm the princess's tutor. Thus why I don't know much about centaurs either. I'm technically not allowed in the library unless I'm with the princess and even then, it's hard to sneak away to look at the other books in there because her stupid guards are constantly at her side. Hell, I don't even get paid that much! My father sold me to the king years ago so that I could help his daughter with her studies. They let me live in the castle for free, I don't have to pay for my meals and I get a small allowance every month." Her expression softened as she thought back over the years.

"Ever since I was young, I've been fascinated by centaurs. My father would tell me tales of when his great grandfather was alive, how he lived peacefully with the centaurs, just before the Great War happened. He would tell me about one centaur in particular. This centaur had magic that allowed his arms to turn into iron and take any shape or form he could think of. He would often use his magic to help my father's great grandfather work on the house he built, or put up fences around the farm I used to live at."

Gajeel's' eyes glanced away from Levy as she spoke of this centaur. Levy continued to speak softly. "He told me he was a kind centaur, and always had a friend with him, a satyr, I believe they were called?"

Gajeel's fist gripped tightly as she spoke of the satyr. Levy's eyes looked over Gajeel, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Is something wrong?"

Gajeel huffed and grinned slightly. "Yeah, anyone ever tell ya that you talk too much about stupid stuff no one gives a fuck about?"

Levy couldn't help what she did next. Without thinking, she quickly moved closer to Gajeel, stomping her foot down hard on one of his legs, causing him to yell out in pain. His hand immediately going to the bite mark she stepped on as he whipped his head towards her. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Levy made fists in her own hands as she yelled back. "YOU'RE SUCH A JERK! I CANT BELIEVE THAT I ACTUALLY WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU FOR EVEN A SECOND!" The blue haired girl turned on her heels and quickly stormed out of the tent.

The black centaur growled as he looked down at his leg, blood flowing over his fingers as the wound began to pulse in pain from her kick. Wendy appeared once more into the room, carrying bandages in her small arms. She approached Gajeel with a frown on her face, her voice soft. "Why didn't you just tell her the truth? You wouldn't have gotten kicked if you did."

As Wendy began to clean his newly opened wound on his leg, Gajeel placed his head into his hand, propping his elbow up on one of the pillows as he stared away from the younger centaur. "She doesn't need to know it was me all those years ago. Plus I don't want her to get attached. I still haven't forgiven those humans from the castle and what they did to Lily."

Wendy glanced up at his face, knowing he truly did not like humans anymore. She had moved past what had happened many years ago, but never forgot the pain that never seemed to vanish, only subside inside of her. "You're not even going to try to get to know her? She seems pretty nice. And I mean… she does want to know more about us. I don't see the harm in that."

"There's nothing to learn. We once lived with humans, there was the war, and now we are fighting for our lives to remain hidden and safe. Which I think is stupid. We should be fighting back against them."

Gajeel winced and looked down at his leg that Wendy was bandaging. The leg Levy had stomped on was bleeding through the white fabric as the young centaur wrapped it. The stinging pain shot up his leg into his body. Wendy panicked slightly, knowing she had wrapped it too tight around his leg. "I-I'm sorry! But it needs to be this tight! I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Why can't you just use your magic again?" Gajeel grumbled as he turned his head and placed it back onto his open palm.

"I had to use a lot of my magic on your burns and your other legs, not to mention Levy had a nasty bump on her head. I don't even think she should be moving around too much right now. She really needs to get some rest."

Gajeel stared off into the back of the tent in silence, knowing Wendy was kindly scolding him for making Levy leave. "Well when she passes out, I'm sure they'll bring her right back here to ya."

* * *

Levy walked on the dirt path, alone, and silently thinking to herself. She ignored the many looks she got from everyone, the pointing fingers, and the whispers floating around the centaurs. '_I was just trying to explain myself, and what does he do? Tells me that I talk too much! He's so rude… I mean… I guess I was going on about some personal history…. We've only just met and we aren't really friends or acquaintances but still…. I guess I thought if I told him something that personal, he would look at me differently. I was wrong though. I bet he won't ever see me as a good person.' _Levy stopped in her tracks, clenching a fist at her side. _'Kicking him probably didn't help the situation at all… but I was so mad at him! Nothing I can say will get through to him! I had no other choice... What am I thinking? I did have a choice… I just chose the one that would cause him pain because I was angry.'_

"Heeey! Levy! Wait up!"

Levy's head moved up and around quickly, seeing Lucy trotting over to her as she waved a hand to her. The centaur stopped a few paces before she reached Levy and slowly walked up to her, putting her hands on her waist. "There you are! I was looking for you at Wendy's and she said you stormed out."

"Oh… you heard that?" Levy looked down, a sad look over her face. "I feel like I should go back and apologize to Gajeel for what I did."

Lucy waved a hand, dismissing what she had just said. "Don't worry about him, girl. He's a big boy and he'll be fine. It's about time someone kicked his ass." The blonde centaur giggled as she finished her sentence. Levy didn't find the humor in what she said and looked at Lucy in slight confusion. "Anyways! I'm here to bring you to Erza. That stupid Natsu totally forgot and went straight to the pub. I found him stuffing his face trying to win an eating competition against Elfman. Like he as a chance against him! I mean come on, its Elfman!"

Levy stared at Lucy blankly as the blonde continued to talk. '_And Gajeel says I talk too much…."_

Lucy looked down at Levy's face and brought a hand to her lips. "Oops! I'm going off again. Sorry! I have a bad habit of talking too much!" Lucy rubbed the back of her head as she smiled brightly. "Anyway! Let's go see Erza, then I can introduce you to everyone else here at Fairy Tail."

The centaur turned and waited for Levy to follow along side of her. The blue haired girl knew she was safe with Lucy and didn't hesitate to walk alongside the centaur. "Say… Lucy? Can I ask you something?"

Lucy smiled as she walked. "Sure! What's on your mind?"

"You guys aren't going to keep me here as a prisoner are you?"

Lucy's eyes opened wide as she looked down at Levy. "I don't see why we would…. What gave you that idea?"

Levy shook her head as she smiled slightly. "It's nothing, just something I read—" It was at this moment that Levy remembered that she had lost her books and her red bag back in the forest when Natsu grabbed her and took her away from Gajeel and Laxus. She mentally kicked herself as she remembered this. '_Great… if Laxus finds out what books I had in my bag, I'm sure to be in trouble when I get back to the castle! Maybe it would be a good idea for me to stay here for a while… but sooner or later, I'm going to have to go back… maybe it was never found? But with the way my luck has been…'_ Levy let out a sigh as she thought to herself.

Lucy waved a hand in front of Levy's face, trying to get her attention. "Hey, everything ok in there?"

Levy shook her head slightly and looked up a Lucy. "What? Oh, yes, I'm alright. Sorry. Got lost in thought."

Lucy smiled as she stopped in front of a large wooden building. Levy only saw the one wooden building out by the lake and as her eyes scanned over this one, she was amazed by the craftsmanship put into it. She even marveled at the wooden centaur statues posted just outside the doors. "Well here we are. Erza is meeting with a few of our neighbors right now from Blue Pegasus, but she said we can enter once I found you."

Lucy opened the large door and entered, holding it open for Levy and closing it quietly before leading the way down the large hallway to an even larger and very open room. The blue haired girl could hear talking as she got closer to the other room, a woman's voice, strong and confident sounding, the other was a man's. As they entered the room, Levy's eyes grew wide at the sight before her. A slightly larger centaur that Lucy stood before four Pegasus, one was clearly the leader as he stood in front of the other three, speaking with the centaur.

Levy figured this centaur was Erza. She had scarlet red hair, and a scarlet coat and tail to match. As beautiful as she looked, she also had a sense of power and strength about her. She wore silver armor over her torso with a brown belt around her waist where her centaur half began. Her scarlet red hair was pulled back into a long ponytail and she spoke with such a commanding voice that sent chills down Levy's spine. Levy noticed Erza glance back at the two of them before continuing her conversation with the Pegasus before her. The scarlet haired centaur closed her eyes and lowered her head as she spoke calmly.

"Ichiya will you please focus on the task at hand and not worry about the human behind me?"

The Pegasus before Erza spread his wings wide as he struck a pose with his legs, stretching them out in front of his body as he shook his head, making his mane swirl around his face. "Men! Men! Men!" He said almost dramatically. He brought one of his wings to his chin as he spoke. "My dearest Erza, you aren't going to be kind and introduce us to this sweet smelling per-fumed girl behind you? That's not very lady like of you…"

Levy had forgotten about the chills she got from Erza as she watched the Pegasus do random poses with his legs and wings as he spoke. She tugged on Lucy's shirt, motioning her to lean down closer. She whispered into Lucy's ear. "Is he always this creepy? And why does he have… sparkles all around his body? Is that normal for a Pegasus?"

Lucy giggled and whispered back. "I know it's creepy. Mr. Ichiya isn't the nicest looking Pegasus to look at, but he is very important and has helped us out on many occasions. And we don't know why he sparkles like that. It might have to do with his kind of magic that he uses but we're not entirely sure."

Levy looked past the one called Ichiya to the other Pegasus behind him. The three others looked younger and were slightly taller than the one in front of them. They were all staring at the short girl beside Lucy, all giving her the same lustful look that seemed to loom in their eyes. Levy swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked back at them.

'_Centaurs, and now Pegasus? What mess have I gotten myself into?'_

* * *

**AN: ** not entirely sure if its Pegasi for more than one pegasus… I couldn't find anything that said otherwise so, again, if I find out it is pegasi for more than one pegasus, I'll go back and change it in here :) **

**Please don't forget to review! I want to know if you are enjoying the story, or any other thoughts are fine as well. I'm really hoping I can get another chapter posted in here soon! I promise not to fall off the edge of the earth again!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Chapter 4**

**Starting off with a flashback here in the beginning, a little something that I didn't plan on making that long…anywhos! This is a nice longer chapter for you all. I really hope you enjoy it! :) **

**Also, I have to keep reminding myself that a lot of these characters are centaurs and not people… like, in my last chapter, I noticed I put in that Lucy put her hands on her hips…. I had to change it to waist because she does not have hips if she is a centaur lol so again, I read over this, but I may have missed some stuff. Forgive me, I will probably reread it again after its posted and if I catch anything, I'll fix it :)**

* * *

Many years ago…

"So Mavis is having us help that old man who lives alone away from the town?"

Gajeel grinned as he adjusted the large pieces of wood he carried on his shoulders. "He's a pretty funny guy, Lily. I've been coming out to help him for a while now. He keeps tellin' me stories and predictions of the future, but I don't even think he thinks they'd ever come true." The black centaur let out a laugh as his satyr shook his head as he walked alongside his friend.

"Do you know why this man has decided to exclude himself from the others?" The satyr asked.

"Apparently he saw into his future and said that he needed to get away from everyone else so he could find his soulmate… whatever that means." Gajeel thought for a minute as they walked the dirt path. "I guess he is kinda crazy… I don't know how he's gonna find someone all the way out here…"

Lily grinned slightly as he shrugged his small shoulders. The two continued their walk in silence until they reached their destination. As they came upon the small, secluded farm, Gajeel and Lily noticed the old man already outside working on the fence that needed some repairs. Gajeel glanced down and held out his free hand to his small friend. "Jump up Lily, looks like the old man started without us." The satyr grinned as he took the large centaurs hand, allowing Gajeel to pull him up onto his back, setting him down on the large strap that held the two saddle bags together on either side of his horse body.

The black centaur trotted down quickly to the man by the fence, setting down the large pieces of wood on the ground and turning his human half around to untie the saddle bags from his other half. Lily jumped down off of Gajeel's back and loosened his own pack, setting it down next to the pieces of wood Gajeel brought.

"Oi! Old man! What's the big idea? You don't usually start this early in the day."

The man let out a laugh as he pointed at Gajeel, shaking a finger at him. "I'm not that old Gajeel. And I wanted to start early today because I have company coming over tonight."

Gajeel let out a small laugh as he shook his head. "I don't believe in your premonitions and I never will old man. Is this company an actual human being?"

The man took his handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his forehead free of sweat. "You laugh and make fun all you want, Gajeel, but to answer your question, yes she is real." As he shoved his handkerchief back in his pocket, he winked and pointed at the centaur once more. "And I've got one for you too."

"Pfft… what a mare or one of your false predictions?" The centaur said as he began to take over fixing the fence.

"That, my friend, is something I'm saving for later." Gajeel grinned at the man who returned a smile to the large being. Lily eyed both of them, letting out a small breath as his lips formed a smile.

"It's good to see that you have another friend other than me, Gajeel." The satyr said cheerfully.

Gajeel shot a look at his small friend as Lily brought him a few nails. "Hey! I've got plenty of friends. What do you think I call those idiots back at Fairy Tail?" Gajeel snatched the nails away from Lily's small hand and put all but one into his mouth. He kept one nail in one hand and with his other, formed it into an iron hammer. He held the nail steady as he used his iron hammer hand to nail it into the thick wood.

"You aren't the friendliest centaur Gajeel, anytime we are with the others, you always seem to be picking a fight with them. It just makes me question when you throw the word "friend" around so lightly."

The man came up behind Lily and put a hand on his shoulder. "Cut him some slack, Lily. Deep down he truly cares about everyone back home. And as much as he doesn't like to admit it, he cares about me as well. After all, I'm his first human friend he's ever had. And the fact that he has come back to help me out on the farm is proof enough for me that we are friends."

Gajeel finished hammering in one nail and moved on to the next one. "Are you two gonna stand there and yap the whole time or are ya gonna give me a hand fixin' this fence?"

The man looked down at Lily and smiled as he picked up his hammer. "His manners could use some work still, but a friend none of the less."

Hours had passed and the sun was beginning to set before Gajeel, Lily, and the old man had finished their work for the day. They entered the house and all made themselves at home. The man had made a special table so that the three of them could sit together and enjoy meals, despite their awkward size differences. Gajeel bent his knees as he moved his hind legs further underneath his body, slowly and carefully setting his large body down onto the soft rug the man had placed down for him. Lily sat in a small chair next to the centaur as the man's seat was across from them both at the table.

"So what's this new future you see for me?" Gajeel asked as he brought the mug of ale to his lips, tilting his head back and taking a long drink.

The man smiled as he brought food to the table. "You are going to find love in someone Gajeel. This girl is going to save your life one day, after you save hers that is."

Gajeel brought his hand down away from his face, raising a studded brow as he stared at the man who turned around to get the rest of the food for his guests. "Whatcha mean I'ma find love? A mare to mate with?" He asked as he tilted his head back once more, taking another drink of ale.

As the man came back into view, he moved his head to the side slightly, a smirk on his face. "Well… I never did say a centaur girl…. It will be a human, Gajeel."

Ale came shooting out of the black centaurs' mouth as he heard the words leave his friends mouth. Disbelief and disgust came over his face as he slammed his mug on the table. "What the hell did you just say?! A human?! Are you mad old man? There ain't no way a human is ever going to save me, one, and two, how the hell can we be together?! It's _physically _impossible. I think you've been inhaling too much of that smoke you use with your… fortune telling."

The man grabbed the rag he had over his shoulder and wiped the table off of the ale Gajeel had just spit out, laughing lightly to himself. "You doubt what I've seen?"

"Uh, yeah. There ain't no way in hell I'm gonna let some human save me. Plus the only human worth savin' is you. Why would I care about anyone else around here?"

"Trust me, my friend, you will see."

Gajeel let out a huff as he brought his hand up, resting his chin in the open palm of his hand. "Whatever old man… I'll believe it when I see it. Shouldn't you have a woman coming here by now? Kinda hard to prove you're right when the proof isn't showin' up."

Just as Gajeel finished his sentence, there was a knock on the door. The man smiled as he left the two at the table to answer the front door to his house. Gajeel took another sip of his drink, setting it down and peering into the cool liquid as he replayed the man's words in his head.

"_You are going to find love in someone Gajeel. This girl is going to save your life one day, after you save hers that is.… I never did say a centaur girl…. It will be a human, Gajeel."_

The centaur scoffed and closed his eyes lightly. "Yeah right… when hell freezes over maybe…."

The man entered the room, an arm around a woman's waist, and a smile over his face. "Alena, this is Gajeel, and Lily. They are the ones who have been helping me around the farm."

Gajeel opened an eye, glancing over at the woman standing beside the man. She smiled kindly at the both of them and spoke calmly. "It's very nice to meet you. I've never seen a centaur or satyr up close before, so this is a rare treat. I'm honored to be in your company."

Gajeel's brow went up as he turned his head to them. "You're not under some spell or being bribed by this man are ya?"

The woman laughed as the man gave Gajeel a glare. "No, I am not. A few days ago I had been passing by this farm and I had hurt my ankle up on the path leading back into town. Luckily Arthur was on his way back home from town and saw me injured, and helped back here to get my ankle wrapped up. We stayed up until the sun came back up the next day, just talking with each other. And now here we are. I honestly couldn't be happier."

Gajeel swallowed a small lump that formed in his throat, his crimson eyes moving away from the two humans standing away from him, his thoughts going wild at the fact that this man's premonitions might actually come true for the centaur.

Lily looked to Gajeel and then looked to Arthur and Alena. He brought hand to his lips and coughed lightly. "Perhaps we should eat before the food gets cold, now that everyone is accounted for?"

Arthur smiled at Lily and lead Alena to her eat across from Lily, sitting in the chair next to her. Silence was in the air as they all ate. Gajeel was eyeing his friend and this new woman as he shoved food into his mouth. The woman called Alena was just inches shorter than Arthur, who he himself was not a small man to begin with. She had long, light blue hair that flowed over her shoulders with a red headband holding back her bangs. Her body was slim but still quite beautiful. And man was she blessed in the chest department. Gajeel could see why his friend had chosen her as a mate. The black centaur flinched slightly as hazel eyes looked up and matched his gaze with her own, followed by a smile.

"So tell me Gajeel, what's it like back where you're from? Are there many centaurs like you? And what of the satyrs?" She asked kindly.

"Uh… it's alright. It's kinda weird having humans living with us and centaurs leaving to go live with other humans… probably something I'm never going to get used to. And as for the satyr's, we only have three, included Lily. The other two are quite annoying though."

Lily looked up at Gajeel as he put one hand on his hip and the other pointed a finger to Gajeel. "They are not annoying, they are our friends Gajeel." Lily turned to face Alena and spoke to her with a smile. "We are the only three that live in Fairy Tail right now. There used to be more of us, but a lot of the other satyrs decided to leave and explore the lands, meet new people and creatures, and said that one day they would like to find a new place to call home. It's not that they didn't like living with us, it's just that it was starting to get a little over populated. Happy, Carla, and I decided to stay since we had such a strong bond with our centaur friends."

Alena smiled as she put her hands together under the table, leaning in slightly. "How exciting! I always wanted to travel all over the world, but with a klutz like myself, I don't think I'd make it very far without hurting myself!" Everyone but Gajeel laughed at Alena's words.

Instead, the large centaur stood, bringing his front legs forward and hoisting himself up, taking a step back to balance himself and swooshing his tail from side to side. "Come on Lily, it's getting pretty dark and we still need to get back home. Arthur stood quickly and followed the centaur to the door. He reached up and placed a hand on Gajeel's exposed shoulder.

"Was it something we said Gajeel?" He asked in a concerned voice.

Gajeel smirked and placed his own hand on the man's shoulder. "Nah. We really do need to get home. And besides, she's a pretty lady. You should have some alone time with the one you love. You don't need a big lug like me stickin' around talkin' about where I'm from when you can be spending time with her."

Arthur smiled as he nodded his head. "A friend none of the less."

Alena stood from her chair and made her way to Arthur's side. She smiled brightly at Gajeel as she spoke. "It was a pleasure to meet both of you. And if there's anything you need from town, please don't hesitate to let me know."

The black centaur nodded as he opened the door, walking out of it with Lily trotting to keep up behind him. The satyr, once clear of the door, jumped up onto the centaurs back, laying down on his own as he crossed his legs and put his hands behind his head, looking up into the starry night sky.

Both the centaur and satyr were silent as the farm disappeared from their view as they entered the forest. Lily watched the stars that seemed to sit still as they moved further into the thick woods. "Do you think he was right Gajeel? About you falling in love with a human?"

"Heh… I think that old man is crazy. I don't believe in premonitions."

Lily tapped his small hoof in the air as he smiled. "He was right about Alena you know. If that's not proof enough that he could be telling the truth—"

Gajeel glanced over his shoulder, glaring daggers at Lily. "One more word and yer walkin' home by yourself satyr."

* * *

Levy stepped back as a hand went straight to her head. Lucy looked down at the petite girl and grabbed her arm before she took another step back. "Levy? You ok?"

"I'm alright… just a little dizzy." Levy looked out to Erza and Ichiya, her eyesight getting blurry. '_This isn't good… my head is pounding worse now than when I got here… and I feel like I'm going to pass out….'_

Her hazel eyes closed lightly for a few seconds, opening back up to see Ichiya had made his way over to her, his nostrils right in her face, taking in her scent with quick sniffs.

"Sniff, sniff. Sniff, sniff."

Levy's eyes widened slightly as she watched the nostrils of the Pegasus in front of her move as he spoke the words. The three Pegasus that were behind Ichiya had come up with him and were speaking as he stood before the young girl in deep thought.

"What is it Sir?" The third one said.

"Looks like she had suffered from a head wound." The first chimed in with a feather rubbing his chin.

"Perhaps we could give her something to help with the pain, not that I care or anything." The second Pegasus said as he folded his wings behind him, his head turning away from Levy.

Ichiya's eyes darted to the Pegasus behind him. "Hibiki! Ren! Eve!"

The three Pegasus behind him stood up straight with all of their wings folded against their backs. They spoke in unison. "Sir!"

Ichiya's sparkle didn't seem to go away still as he spoke. "Bring me my perfume bag. I believe I have something for this beautiful young maiden."

All three replied with another "Sir" and quickly went outside to the small cart they had brought with them. Minutes later, they had returned with a small bag. They all bent a knee and lowered their heads as they handed Lucy the bag.

Lucy opened it and held it for Ichiya to look into. He scanned the vials he had inside the bag, and after a minute, reached in with his wing and pulled out a small vial. He took the cork out with his teeth and spit it out. "Now then, take a whiff of this my dear." He held the small glass just below Levy's nose, letting its aroma flow into her. The young girl could instantly feel relief from the pounding pain in her head. She looked up to Ichiya and smiled as her hand went up to her head, the bump slowly beginning to disappear as well.

"Thank you so much. What kind of magic is that, may I ask?"

Ichiya smiled as he tossed the vial back to Ren who caught it with his wings. "Why yes, it is my special perfume magic. That one vial in particular heals whatever ills the person who takes in its sweet scent."

Levy looked at the Pegasus in amazement. "That's amazing…"

Ichiya's eyes seemed to widen as Levy's words entered his ears. He moved closer to her, wrapping a wing around her shoulders as a few feathers lifted her chin up so that their eyes were locked together. "I could show you something else quite amazing my dear…."

Levy's eyes widened in fear of this Pegasus now. '_What the hell is he talking about?! All I said was that his magic was amazing… I think he's taking this too far.'_

A silver sword was pushed in between Levy's face and Ichiya chin, slicing off a few of his whiskers, causing the two to gasp suddenly. Ichiyas' cool and collected face turned to fear as he looked up at Erza who had a death glare on her face.

"Erza! I-I meant nothing by this! I was merely—"

"This meeting is over. We are leaving and so are you and your men." Erza said coolly as she withdrew her sword, sliding it back into its sheath at her side. Ichiya let out a breath and bowed his head.

"Of course. Until next time." The four Pegasus turned around together and left with Ichiya leading the way out of the building. Erza kept an eye on them until they were out of sight. Her head turned back to Lucy and Levy, her arms crossing over her stomach.

"Care to explain, Lucy?"

Lucy's hand went behind her head as she spoke nervously. "Well… while Gajeel and Natsu were out on a patrol, they ended up finding this girl and saving her. She says she wants to learn more about centaurs and doesn't mean us any harm." Lucy stopped for a second, watching Erza stare Levy down with her hard gaze. "I think it'll be good for her to stay for at least one day."

"No."

Levy's heart sank as Lucy's eyes widened. "What do you mean no? She's not causing any trouble, and I don't see the harm—"

"Did you not take into consideration that she could very well be a spy from the castle? I will not take that chance that she could endanger us all."

Lucy held out her hands at her sides as she defended Levy. "She was completely passed out when she got here! There was no way she could have seen how to get to Fairy Tail. We are completely safe still."

"My decision is final. Have Gajeel take her back home."

"But he's supposed to be resting! He can't go back out there, what if he runs into—"

"Gajeel can handle himself and will take this human back to the castle." Erza said as she turned on her hooves away from Lucy. "Give her some food and water, then send her on her way. Make sure she is blindfolded when she leaves. Wait some time to take it off." The scarlet centaur walked away slowly, leaving Lucy and Levy to themselves. Hazel eyes looked over to the blonde who looked devastated.

"It's ok Lucy. I could always try to learn more in my books… if I ever find them again that is…."

Lucy stomped a hoof into the wood, leaving a hoof shaped dent. "It's just not like Erza to say something like that! Especially because she was once in love with a human herself! Gah! This just doesn't make any sense! I don't see you as a threat at all but something else must be going on for her not to want any humans here right now… maybe that's it." Lucy looked down at Levy and half smiled. "I really am sorry that you can't stay with us. I was looking forward to getting to know you more. And I'm sure that everyone else around here was looking forward to talking with you too." The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "What can you do? Whatever Erza says goes around here… come on, let's get you some food for your journey back home and then we'll get Gajeel. I hope he will be ok enough to take you back… he did look pretty beat up."

Levy looked down as she remembered what she had done to him just before she stormed out of the tent._ 'And now he is going to be forced to take me home….'_

"Hey… don't worry about Gajeel. He's been through worse. A little walk through the woods won't kill him." Levy looked up at Lucy as she smiled down at the blue haired girl in reassurance. Levy gave her a quick nod and followed her out of the room.

Lucy ended up taking Levy back to Wendy's tent, telling her to wait inside while she went to go pack up a small bag of food to get them through the night. Levy stared at the tents opening, taking a deep breath and exhaling it out slowly before she entered. To her surprise, Gajeel wasn't where she had left him before. She scanned the room for any sign of him, thinking his stubborn self just got up and left after Wendy had finished with him. She stepped further inside, her head turning slowly to scan the room.

"Gajeel?"

The young girl stopped in her tracks as she heard choking in the distance. It sounded rough and quite deep. The sound of metal being dropped on the ground was heard from behind the curtain Wendy was once at. Levy walked down to the curtain, stopping a few feet away as Gajeel came into view from the other side. He ran the back of his hand over his mouth as he stared at her with crimson orbs. "What do you want now?"

Levy's eyes glanced down at this legs, still bandaged but at least the bleeding had stopped. A sigh of relief came from her as her eyes came back up to his piercing ones. "Lucy told me to wait here for her while she got some food and water for us."

Gajeel's' eyes narrowed as his head turned to the side slightly in confusion. Levy shook her head quickly and revised what she had just said. "I mean, we just talked with Erza, and since she doesn't want me to stick around, she has ordered you to take me back to the castle." She went on quickly so Gajeel didn't have a chance to respond. "You don't have to take me the whole way, I just need to get to the point where we first met. I can find my way back home from there. But she said that you would be able to handle it…"

"That red headed mare…" Gajeel mumbled to himself as he clenched a fist.

Levy tried to look past his large body to what was going on behind the curtain. "What were you doing back there anyway?"

Gajeel moved closer to her, stopping just before her, he leaned his body in close, his face inches away from hers. "Nothing for you to concern yourself over."

Levy took a step back. "Why do you feel the need to do that to me?"

Gajeel's body came back up straight as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Caz I want you to be scared of me."

Levy raised a fist as her eye brows crossed. "Well it's not working! I'm not afraid of you anymore."

With the last word leaving Levy's mouth, Gajeel was on her. He quickly grabbed her arms and pushed her back to one of the beds nearby. He picked her up and forced her down onto the sheet. He pushed the front of his centaur body against her legs to keep her from kicking and leaned in close once more as he pinned her down. He could see her chest rising and falling quickly in a panic, her eyes were wide. She was trying to stay strong but fear was still in her heart, she didn't know what he was doing or what he was going to do.

"Still not afraid of me anymore?" Crimson orbs moved down from her eyes to her lips. Her mouth was opened slightly as she panted in fear, her lips quivering ever so slightly. She was paralyzed underneath him. She didn't bother fighting back for she knew she could do nothing. He sat up slightly, his tight grip still on her wrists as he looked over her. '_She looks so much like them both…. Those eyes… that blue hair…'_

The black centaur looked back into her hazel eyes, staring into them for another minute before he spoke. "If I'm taking you back home… try not to piss me off. I'm not so nice when no one else is around to protect you." He leaned in closer and whispered into her ear. "Who knows what I'd end up doing to you…."

His grip loosened and eventually let go as he stood up and stepped back from Levy, allowing her to step down from the bed. She rubbed her wrists as Lucy entered the tent with a small bag.

"Ok so there is enough food to last you until morning if you need to stop and make camp somewhere. It is getting late after all." Lucy smiled as she held up the bag in front of her. Gajeel made his way to her and snatched it from the blondes hands, throwing it over his shoulder.

"Come on Shrimp. Let's get moving." He said coolly.

Levy waited until he was out of the tent before she walked up to Lucy, concern in her face. "Is there anyone else who can take me back home?"

Lucy looked at her confusingly. "Why? Gajeel is used to traveling at night through the forest. He will keep you safe. Is something wrong?"

"Oi! Let's get a move on!"

Levy's eyes looked past Lucy to the centaur peaking his head back inside, waiting impatiently for Levy to join him. She smiled and shook her head. "No, everything is fine. Thanks again Lucy." The blue haired girl rushed past the golden centaur and made her way outside to where Gajeel was waiting. Lucy followed her and watched them walk down the path to the entrance of Fairy Tail.

"Something doesn't feel right…" Lucy said softly to herself as the two slowly started to become specs in the distance.

As they neared the entrance, Gajeel pulled out a piece of cloth from the bag Lucy gave him, tossing it to Levy. "Put this on."

Levy made a face as she looked down at the cloth. "At least this one isn't covered in blood…" She said quietly to herself. Gajeel heard her comment, but chose to ignore it. Levy looked back up Gajeel as she held the cloth open with both hands. "How am I supposed to see where I'm going with this thing over my eyes?"

Gajeel looked over at her just before he stopped walking. "Will you just put it on? I'm going to be carrying you most of the way since you're short legs won't be able to keep up with me. Plus with your luck, I'm sure you'd trip over every little root we come across."

Levy glared at the centaur as she spoke. "Oh, I see. So it's ok for you to piss me off with your snarky comments, but heaven forbid I make you mad…"

"Hey! I don't have to do this! I could just get you outta here and then leave your ass to find your own way home! You wouldn't last five minutes in the dark let alone with the wild animals that hunt at night! So I suggest you shut up and put that on so we can get this done and over with!"

Levy wrapped the cloth around her eyes without another word, tying it tight so that it would not slip. She held her hands out in front of her, searching for Gajeel. He watched her for a moment before taking her hand into his, holding onto it and pulling her closer to him gently. Her hand was warm and soft, something he did not expect. His crimson orbs moved up her arm up to her face. At this moment, she wasn't afraid of him. A little angry maybe, but not afraid. What was with this girl? She wanted to stand up to him but as soon as he took over, she was afraid.

Levy turned her head slightly and spoke after a few minutes of Gajeel just holding onto her hand. "Is something wrong?"

Gajeel smirked and without warning her, he lifted her up onto his back, receiving a gasp from her small throat, followed by an angry "Gajeel!" As Levy adjusted herself on his back, he began to move forward once more. Levy still wasn't used to the way he moved. She had seen the princess ride horses before, and the way they moved. Centaurs were different since they only had the body of a horse from the waist down. She could feel the powerful horse shoulders and muscles moving between her thighs, her feet occasionally tapping the leg as it came back from a step. It caused her to sway with his horse body with each step. What was different was his human form. It was still and unmoving as he walked, like half a statue placed upon a living body.

The only thing that kept her on his back were her hands that held onto either side of his tunic. She wondered if this was the same one he had been wearing earlier. Her thoughts went back to how he had attacked the soldiers and how terrified they were of him. "Gajeel… why did you decide to attack those men from the castle earlier?"

The centaur was silent as he walked further into the forest, getting distance in between them and Fairy Tail. "You don't want to know, Shrimp."

"When are you going to use my actual name?! It's Levy! And yes I do want to know!"

Gajeel continued to walk in silence for a long while, Levy was about to give up when the centaur began to speak. "A few of them were responsible for the deaths of our friends. I've waited years to get revenge on them all. I would have gotten that stupid lightning user had I not—" Gajeel cut himself off, not wanting to let her know what kind of magic he had all along. "It was just a routine gathering that they were on. And when they didn't come back after a couple of days, a few of us went searching for them. Their tracks led us to the castle where they were tied up and forced to their knees. We rushed in to save them but that general told us if we were to get any closer, he'd have them all killed. He said he wanted something from us, but we had no clue to what he was talking about. He didn't believe us. He ordered his men to shoot them all with arrows, and then ordered his men to hunt us down until there was only one left, so he could send a message to the rest of the centaurs at Fairy Tail. We were all enraged as we watched our friends and family members slowly drift away… we fought back with all that we had… but it wasn't enough. He had a sorcerer there with him. There was just no way we could have won. We were outnumbered and out matched. We had to leave. I vowed that day that I would not move on until I got my revenge on all of them. But like cowards, those men from the castle who were involved, sit behind its stone walls. Afraid to show their faces outside. We would often come across a small scouting group, killing almost all of them off and saving one to return to the castle so they could get a message from us. The ones we've killed were inexperienced, as if they are gathering up these new soldiers, sending them out to face death, all because they know that one day… I will kill them."

Levy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt sorry for Gajeel, and everyone else at Fairy Tail. Everyone she met at the castle never spoke of this ever happening, not even the servants who had been there long before she had arrived. "Gajeel… I'm so sorry…"

"Still think they are all innocent?"

Levy shook her head as she gripped his tunic tighter, fighting back the urge to cry. "I can't believe my father sold me to a place that does this kind of thing to innocent beings. Had I known this happened… I don't think I would have agreed to live there…"

The two remained silent once again for a while, not wanting to talk after what was said. Levy had taken off the blindfold once they got far away enough from Fairy Tail, and kept her eyes on the night sky. She wondered if there were any constellations she had not recorded yet, and quickly remembered that she didn't have anything to take notes with. She let out a soft sigh as she let her head fall down.

"What's wrong?" Gajeel asked gruffly.

"I was hoping to record some new constellations while I was out here, but I dropped my bag when Natsu was taking me away from you and Laxus."

Gajeel let out a grunt as he moved a branch away from his face. "You ain't the only one who lost something."

"What did you lose?"

"My spear."

Levy raised a brow. "Can't you just make a new one?"

Gajeel glanced back at her. "That one as given to me by a very special friend. I will be getting it back. Even if it costs me my life."

"Ok, ok… I get it. It means a lot to you. I can relate. That red bag I had, was the only thing I had left of my mother." Her eyes moved down slightly. "I unfortunately probably won't ever see it again…"

Gajeel stopped and grabbed Levy's arm lightly, pulling her off of his back onto flat ground. She looked up at him in confusion but before she could protest, he spoke coolly. "We're gonna stop here for a while. I need some rest. I'll get a fire started, you can go get some firewood for me."

Levy frowned slightly at the thought that they weren't continuing on their way, but knew he was probably still in some pain from earlier. She walked away from Gajeel, not going far so that she would not get lost. As she bent down, collecting some pieces of wood, she thought to herself as she scanned the ground beneath her. '_I can still see with the moonlights help… maybe I can find something to help with Gajeel's' wounds._' She glanced back towards Gajeel who was on his knees, leaning in close to the small fire he had started, trying to keep it alive as he blew on it lightly. She turned her head back around and moved further into the forest.

As Levy moved further into the wooded area, she would stop occasionally and pick off a part of a certain plant, along with some fire wood to take back to Gajeel. She continued on the path that she was on, noticing that a lot of the plants and twigs were broken along with disturbed earth under her feet. She looked around the small open area nearby, her eyes finding hoof tracks heading in two directions. Her eyes widened as she realized this was the spot where she had lost her bag. '_What are the odds?!_' She thought to herself. With one arm, she held onto the pieces of wood she collected and the pieces of plant she had found to make a salve to help the injured centaur with, searching through the brush with her other.

Her eyes lit up as she saw a bit of red in the moonlight. She rushed towards it, picking it up quickly revealing her red bag she had lost. She opened the flap and checked everything inside. All was accounted for. Levy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god…" As Levy put the ingredients she needed for the salve into the bag, her eyes caught a glimpse of something in the distance. She closed her bag up and threw the strap over her shoulder. She walked over to what she had seen up ahead. She knelt down and picked up a spear with blood stains over it. "This must be Gajeel's…"

A low growl made the young girl freeze in her place. Her eyes grew wide as they slowly looked up and off to the side of her in the nearby brush. Yellow eyes shined in the moonlight as sharp white teeth were showed off in a snarl. Levy gripped the spear in her hand, letting the small pieces of wood fall from her other arm. As she watched one paw at a time appear from the bushes, she rose slowly, gripping the spear tighter. The wolf before her was large, and probably a distraction made for her. She knew they didn't hunt alone, unless they were cast out from their pack. Unfortunately this one looked well, meaning it wasn't alone. Its ears were pinned back as it stepped closer to the girl who was taking slow steps backwards. Its teeth were bared and wet from its saliva. Its piercing yellow eyes stared her down as she shook in fear.

She knew it wasn't smart to run, and if she yelled, it would have been on her in an instant. '_What can I do? All I have is this spear… and I don't even know how to use it!'_ Levy backed up until she was up against a tree, she gasped as she felt the bark in her back. The wolf growled as it crouched in front of Levy, waiting for her next move. Levy swallowed hard as she breathed slowly. _'I need to try.'_ The young girl turned and began to run as fast as she could, not taking another look back at what was chasing her from behind.

She stayed on the small path she had walked on, holding onto the spear as tightly as she could. Her heart was racing, her whole body ached from forcing herself to run faster. She could hear the beast getting closer. '_I'm almost there! I'm so close to him! I just need to—'_ Her thoughts stopped immediately as she felt the root on the path catch her foot. As she fell, she could feel her heart stop beating. '_This is it… I'm going to die!'_

As her body crashed into the hard ground, Levy let out a cry of pain, her head quickly turning to see the wolf jumping towards her. Its jaw open wide as its paws stretched out at either side of its body, ready to tear into her flesh.

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**AN: cliffhanger! One of my most favorite things to do in my stories lol. PLEASE review! I want to thank all of those who have reviewed, but I want to know what you all think of my story so far. **


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Chapter 5**

**Honestly I did not expect to write another chapter so soon. I didn't get a chance to reread over this one so if there are any mistakes, I will fix them later. I will most likely read it tomorrow while I am at work on my break and fix anything that I need to then. For now, enjoy this chapter :)**

**Thank you guys soooo so so so much for reviewing! I love to see reviews after a chapter is posted! I love your thoughts and reactions to the story :) so please continue to review! (Replies at bottom)**

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Levy shut her eyes quickly, waiting for the sharp pain of the wolf's teeth and claws to tear into her at any moment. To her surprise, all she felt was a rush of air flowing past her, a loud yelp filling her ears a second later. The blue haired girl opened her eyes to see the wolf had been pushed away from her and Gajeel was now between them. Levy's eyes widened as she shouted. "Gajeel! It's not alone!"

"What?!" Gajeel growled as he turned his head around to Levy. The girl pointed past him as she shouted again.

"In front of you!"

The black centaur whipped his head forward, seeing a second wolf jumping at him with wide, powerful jaws. Gajeel managed to catch him in the air, his hand on the wild beasts' throat. The wolf in his hand clawed and desperately reached out for any bit of flesh on Gajeel. Before Gajeel could do anything with the wolf in hand, another sprang from the shadows, jumping onto Gajeel's back. It sank its white teeth into his shoulder, causing the large creature to rear up and yell out in pain.

"Damn you!" The centaur threw the wolf in his hand down onto the ground, his large hoof coming crashing down onto its neck, breaking it instantly. With a second free hand, Gajeel reached back and grabbed wolf that still had its teeth in his tanned flesh. He groaned as he pried the wolf's jaw from his shoulder. Once free from the wolf's grasp, Gajeel threw him down by the first wolf that had attacked Levy. The two wolves stood together, growling and snarling.

"You ok Levy?"

Levy looked up at the centaur before her. He was panting heavily, bleeding from his left shoulder, and his fists were clenched tightly together. She felt like this was all her fault, that he was getting hurt because of her. Had she not gone looking for her bag, or gone for his spear… they wouldn't be in this situation now, and he wouldn't have gotten injured further.

"Oi!"

Levy snapped back into reality as Gajeel snapped his head back towards her. She nodded her head as she looked into his crimson orbs. They were full of rage. A smirk that appeared over his lips surprised the young girl as he turned his head back around slowly, cracking his knuckles as he started stepping closer to the wolves. "Good… now then… who wants to end up like their friend?"

The wolves growled more intensely as Gajeel stepped closer. The centaur stopped in his tracks as two more wolves appeared slowly beside the two others already in front of him.

"Heh… well this should be interesting…"

Levy looked down at the spear beside her, quickly picking it up. "Gajeel! Take this!"

The centaur turned his body slightly just as Levy was tossing him his spear. He stretched out his arm, his hand grasping the wooden shaft. The black centaur turned quickly, thrusting the sharpened iron head of the spear into one of the wolf's chest as it launched itself into the air. A yelp escaped its throat as the spear pierced its flesh. The centaur growled loudly as he swung the spear off to the side, throwing the wolf's body against a tree. The other three had circled around the large black centaur, watching him carefully, studying his movements and putting them to memory.

Gajeel held the spear with both hands, circling around with the wolves slowly, keeping an eye on all of them. He laughed as he spoke to them. "What? You three afraid to come at me? I can see the fear in your eyes…" One of the wolves lunged forward, biting the air around Gajeel and quickly retreating back to his spot in the circle before Gajeel could hit him with the spear. The other two did the same, only at the same time, forcing Gajeel's attention away from the third. As Gajeel went for the two lunging for him, the third launched himself onto Gajeel's burnt arm, sinking his teeth in deep and clawing his tanned skin to stay on as long as possible.

Gajeel let a hand go of the spear as he groaned in pain once more, reaching for the wolf attached to his arm. "You son of a bitch!" As the centaur was distracted with the wolf on his arm, the other two jumped up onto his back, one gnawing on the left shoulder while the other tried to bite into Gajeel's dark hide. Gajeel's brows crossed as he glanced back. "That's it!" The centaur rose on his hind legs, forcing himself to fall backwards onto his back.

Levy watched in horror as Gajeel went up and back. She knew something like this for a horse was deathly dangerous, so to see Gajeel doing it was even scarier. She wasn't entirely sure that he knew if this would work or not, or if he could even survive such a maneuver.

Gajeel managed to land in such a way that only the two wolves on his back ended up in hurt, they both yelped in pain, and once free from Gajeel's weight, ran off into the forest. The wolf on Gajeel's arm had freed his toothy vise grip on his prey and ran off with the other two, knowing it was a lost battle if he were to fight the centaur by himself. Gajeel grabbed his spear and stood back up slowly. His left shoulder and right arm throbbing in intense pain, blood pouring from his new wounds. He looked over his arm and as much as he could of his centaur back. "Damn them…"

Levy's started to breathe again, not realizing she had held it in this whole time. She closed her eyes and took in a couple deep breaths. "That was so close…" Hazel eyes opened back up and immediately went wide as a gasp escaped her throat. The wolf that Gajeel had stabbed and tossed aside into a tree hadn't died and was now inches away from her, his jaws opening wide for a bite from such an easy prey. Levy's eyes instinctively shut quickly. A moment later she could hear a flesh piercing sound, along with warm droplets upon her face. She slowly opened her eyes to see the wolf's jaws still open wide, and a spear head coming out from the back of his throat. The wolf fell beside Levy who had moved way slightly from its now dead corpse. She watched as blood started to form a pool around the wolf's muzzle.

All the girl could do was stare. She had never seen a dead body up close like this, let alone something that had been trying to kill her for an easy meal. Levy felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest as she stared into its now lifeless eyes. She hadn't noticed Gajeel had made his way over to her, extending a hand out to her.

"Hey, Shrimp… you alright? That was a really close one wasn't it?" Gajeel said almost jokingly. Levy turned her head up to him, fear written all over her face as she took his hand into her own. He pulled her up slowly. Without thinking, her arms went around the centaurs' waist, hugging him tightly as she buried her face into his stomach. Gajeel's eyes went wide as he looked down at blue hair.

"W-What are you doing…?" Gajeel asked nervously.

"I'm sorry… I just… I almost died twice now from these animals… and you saved me, but you were hurt in the process… I was so scared that you were going to die…."

Crimson orbs stared intently down at her now. _'I saved her…' _The thought made Gajeel push her away quickly. Holding her out at arm's length. She looked up at him as he looked down at her, wanting to say something but instead he just let her go. He made his way over to the dead wolf and pulled his spear out from its body. "Come on, let's get back to that fire."

Levy nodded slowly as she reached down for the red bag, placing it over her shoulder. As they walked back, Levy managed to pick up some more firewood for the bunch that she had lost when she first saw the wolf. Neither one spoke until they got back to their little camp site, the fire still alive. Levy knelt down and placed a few pieces of wood onto the tiny fire, making sure it was catching before looking up at Gajeel. He had managed to lay down on a soft patch of ground, trying to inspect his own wounds in the dim light.

It was then that Levy remembered she had something to help Gajeel in her bag. She searched though it intently, taking out her various pieces of plants she had gathered. She made her way over to the large centaur, kneeling down beside him. He eyed her suspiciously as he held onto his burned arm that now had bite and claw marks all over it. Levy reached out with a hesitant hand, stopping just before his tanned skin. She let out a soft breath as she ran her fingers slowly over his forearm that wasn't injured, gripping it lightly and pulling it closer to her. Gajeel watched her and didn't resist her touch or pull. He remained silent as he watched. Levy moved her head closer to his wounds to see how deep they were.

"Did Lucy pack any emergency items in that bag by chance?" Levy asked. Gajeel looked from her hand to her face before he spoke.

"Probably. Blondie always seems to pack more than what we usually need if we are going on a long trip. It wouldn't surprise me if she did end up packing some first-aid crap in there."

Levy stood up quickly and went over to the bag Gajeel had placed down on the ground when they first got to the small area. "Yeah well that first-aid crap, might just save your life."

Gajeel scoffed as he raised a brow at his own arm. His attention when back to Levy as he heard a sigh and a blessing to the blonde centaur.

"I'm going to need you to take off your tunic so I can also get at your shoulder after your arm."

Gajeel mumbled under his breath as he did was he was told. He took hold of the collar and pulled the fabric off of his back, wincing as it slid over his new wound on his shoulder. He tossed the blood stained tunic aside, letting the slight cool breeze catch his skin.

Lucy had definitely packed enough first-aid and medical items to last a life time it seemed. Levy took the bag back to Gajeel's' side and went to work on his wounds. She took a thick cloth from the bag and pressed down with some pressure, causing Gajeel to breathe in a sharp breath through his teeth.

"Sorry… but I have to do this." Levy said as she glanced up at him. He was staring back at her with wincing eyes.

"It's fine… I thoroughly enjoy getting my ass kicked, chewed up by dogs and wolves, only to have ladies put me through more pain as they try to help me."

Levy couldn't help but smile. That was the first joke from Gajeel she had heard, wasn't great, but she knew he was joking. Her eyes looked down at the rest of his large arm. "Good news is that those burns won't be there forever."

Gajeel raised a metal brow at her words. "What do you mean?"

"When was getting some firewood, I found some herbs nearby that can heal burn marks. One good thing about living in the castle, you get to read a lot of books about many different things."

"Except bout centaurs…"

Levy glanced back up into his fierce gaze. His face was completely serious as he looked at her. "Yeah… except that…" Levy lifted the cloth from Gajeel's wound slowly. The bleeding had stopped. "Good, this wound wasn't as deep as I thought. Your shoulder on the other hand is probably going to need stitches. The way you pulled that wolf off of your shoulder looked worse than anything else you did." Levy threw down the blood soaked rag, and reached into the bag for another, moving to his other side to look at his shoulder. She was glad he couldn't see her facial expression as she looked down at it. "This is going to hurt…" She slowly pressed the cloth down on his shoulder, causing him to flinch and growl loudly. Levy reached a hand around to the front of the centaur. "Here, give me your hand. You need to put pressure on this while I take care of your arm really quick."

Gajeel did as he was told once again and raised his burnt arm up to his left shoulder, placing it where Levy's' hands were a moment ago. She walked back around to the other side of the centaur and rummaged through the bag. She pulled out some water and some bandages. The girl moved to the front of Gajeel, kneeling on her knees as she leaned in close to his arm.

"I don't have anything to really keep this from getting infected, but I can use the water try to flush out some of the wound." Without another word, Levy poured the water from the leather pouch over his bite and claw marks. She grabbed a smaller cloth and dabbed it over the arm, making sure it was dry enough before putting some of the herbs she had collected over the burn marks and the open wounds. She reached down and grabbed the bandages, her hands working quickly to wrap everything up and get back to his shoulder.

"Have you done this before, Shrimp?"

"Plenty of times. Another plus side is that I helped out in the infirmary. I helped tend to the soldier that managed to survive your—" She paused for a moment, glancing up into his eyes for a second before looking back to the half way wrapped arm. "I just got to help out and learn how to do this quite a bit."

Gajeel grinned as he knew what she was referring to. "Were they scared? Were they afraid they were going to die?"

Levy looked at I'm in disgust. "What is wrong with you?! Do you get pleasure in someone else's fear?"

A smirk came over his weary face as he looked at her. "A lot of things can get a man's blood pumping, Shrimp, fear is no exception. Some men enjoy looking into another's eyes, seeing the fear consume them… that's what gets me going."

Levy rolled her eyes at his comment. "Whatever. I hardly believe that seeing fear in someone can turn anyone on…" Levy blushed slightly at the mere thought of it.

Gajeel nodded slightly towards her. "Ah, see? Even you can't hide that blush across your cheeks. Am I turnin' you on, Shrimp? Or is it the fear talk? Maybe deep down you are just like me. You enjoy seeing them paralyzed."

"I do not, ok!? God Gajeel! You just can't have a nice conversation with anyone can you?!" '_How the hell did we get on this subject?! And_ why _am I blushing_?! _This is ridiculous.'_

Gajeel's head went back as he laughed, leaving Levy looking confused. "It's just too easy with you! This is the most fun I've had in a long time!"

Levy looked at him, her pink cheeks turning a slightly darker red. "Y-You know… if you're going to just make fun of me, then you can do this by yourself!" Levy began to stand and turn away when Gajeel's hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. Levy froze in place as Gajeel waited a few seconds before speaking.

"I'm sorry, Levy. Will you please finish up wrapping me up?"

Levy looked back at the centaur. He looked sincere, well, as sincere as a centaur like Gajeel could get, Levy thought. She knelt back down in front of him slowly, her hands reaching back up to his arm to finish wrapping up the rest of his wounds. Once she finished, she moved to his left side. She took his hand holding the cloth and slowly lifted it up. Blood had stained his back as it flowed from the wound for so long, moving into his black centaur coat. Levy walked back over to the bag and grabbed the water along with the last piece of clean cloth Lucy had packed. She poured the water over his shoulder, watching the cool liquid run down the tanned skin of the centaur.

She watched it flow over his toned muscles from his shoulder, all the way down his back, watching it wash away some of the blood that still oozed from his wound. With the clean cloth, she dabbed it lightly over his shoulder, slowly running it down the crimson stains on his skin. He felt rigid to her touch as she ran the cloth down slowly. Her eyes went to the back of his head as she spoke.

"You can relax you know… you don't have to be so tense…"

Gajeel let out a scoff just before he spoke. "Easy for you to say! You aren't the one who got chewed up by the wolves and now has to deal with the pain of someone else bandaging you up."

Levy's eye brows crossed slightly. "I'm trying to be gentle! And if I didn't at least clean your wounds up a bit, they could have gotten infected and you could die!"

"Why do you care if I live or die?" Gajeel said coolly.

"Because—" Levy's face softened behind the large creature. "…It was my fault you got hurt. If you died because of me… I would never be able to forgive myself. It's true we don't know each other that well, but… it doesn't mean I'm a heartless person who would wish death upon someone like you."

"If the roles were reversed, do you think I would save you?"

Levy fell silent as she thought to herself. '_What _would_ he do if I was in his position and he were in mine? Would he really let me die?_'

Gajeel could tell Levy was thinking about what he had just asked when he noticed the now damp cloth on his back had stopped moving. He glanced over his shoulder at the young girl who was lost in thought. The centaur turned his head back around as he leaned down to pick up a bandage for the girl. He tossed it over his shoulder to her, hitting her lightly in the face.

"Hey… hurry up and finish this up. I'm tired and want some sleep. Can't do that with you hovering over me like that."

Levy blinked as she looked down at the bandage, realizing she had gone off in her mind. "Sorry, I just—"

"And quit sayin' sorry and feeling bad all the time… it's annoying and it's not like I blame you for getting me hurt. I made the choice to come save your stupid ass."

Levy stuck out her lip as she glared at Gajeel's head. She looked back to his shoulder as she placed the clean bandage over it. She quickly tapped the sides so that it would stay on just long enough for him to get back to Wendy.

"You can deal with the scratches on your rump. I'm going to bed." Levy said as she moved away from the large centaur. She went on the other side of the fire and quickly moved down to the ground next to her red bag. The young girl laid down and turned her back to the centaur who had said nothing after his last comment, pulling her bag under her head as she stared out in front of her.

Gajeel grinned as he watched her backside. "You know, from this view, I do see something worth savin'."

Levy shut her eyes, snapping back at Gajeel. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Bout the only thing that looks good on ya. Your ass." He said with a snicker.

Levy's eyes opened wide as she blushed in anger and embarrassment. She quickly sat up and stared daggers at the centaur who had a wide grin over his face. "You're such a pig!"

"I can definitely see where you got that from." He said with a grin, thinking back to when he was around Arthur and Alena; Levy's great, great grandparents. Alena, as blessed as she was in the front, was also quite blessed in the back as well. Gajeel often kept in touch with that family before the war had happened and noticed that as their children grew up, the blue hair, and the body of their girls were always "blessed." Levy however, only received one of those blessings. He was surprised that the blue hair had been passed down through the generations as well.

Levy's eyes narrowed as she looked at the centaur. "What are you talking about?"

Gajeel's eyes closed softly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Nothin'."

Levy stood and pointed a finger to Gajeel, turning her head slightly as she walked back over to him. "No… it's not nothing… you know something about me… or someone…" Levy's eyes widened as her jaw dropped open wide in disbelief. Gajeel was glaring at her as Levy began to put the pieces together. "You… were there… it was you…" The blue haired girl fell to her knees slowly as she looked at Gajeel in shock. "You knew my great, great grandparents… did you? You knew my family… you were the one who helped them all those years ago…"

Levy looked at the arm that was burnt by Laxus. She wondered how the burns had gotten so bad on just that arm when it hit her. "You have magic… iron magic, don't you? And you tried to use it against Laxus. That's how it was burnt so badly."

Gajeel's eyes shifted away from the girl before him. "Everything you're sayin' is crazy talk, Shrimp."

Levy made a fist in each hand, raising them up to her chest. "I'm right, aren't I?! It was you Gajeel! You knew my family! That's they only way you knew about—" Levy blushed as she thought about the words she was about to say. She shook her head and looked back at the beast. "Tell me I'm right! Tell me what happened to my family all those years ago! Anytime I would ask my father, he would just change the subject! I have a right to know!"

Gajeel's eyes fell back into hazel. They were burning with questions that yearned for answers. "It wasn't me, Shrimp. I just saw some human with a nice ass one time with blue hair like yours. I can put two and two together too. And I don't have magic like you think I do. That dumbass lightning user just gave me an extra dose of bolts and I used my arm to block the attack."

"But… my father told me it was a centaur with—"

"Ya know, I'm not the only black centaur in the world! The one that was with your family had a satyr with it and was kind to them. I have neither a satyr nor kindness. And I definitely don't have any special magic that the centaur had in your fathers' story. It wasn't me."

Levy's eyes burned back into Gajeel's crimson orbs for a long minute before she stood up quickly and made her way back to her spot on the other side of the fire. She decided to face Gajeel this time as she laid down, her eyes staring angrily past the fire right to him. He stared back for a while before letting out a scoff as he rolled his eyes. The centaur rolled his horse body on its side, propping one arm up so his head could rest in his palm. He ignored the pain the movement brought his entire body and closed his eyes, hoping hazel eyes would soon close and quit staring back at him.

As much as Levy knew he was lying and wanted to keep her burning stare on the centaur across from her, sleep was slowly coming over her. _'I know you're lying, Gajeel… I will find out the truth one day…. I don't know why you choose to lie to me about everything… but I'm determined to find out what happened all those years ago….'_

* * *

Sunlight peeked through the trees high above the blue haired girl, awakening hazel eyes. Levy's eyes opened slightly at the warmth that began to wake her, closing back up tightly. The girl rolled over, not wanting to be awake.

"Wake up half pint. We gotta get movin' before a search party comes lookin' for me."

Levy mumbled as she moved her red bag from under her head to over her ear, trying to drone out the brute that now stood over her. Gajeel looked down and sighed. "Don't make me do this…"

"Leave me alone… I didn't sleep well at all." A small voice managed to say.

Gajeel rolled his eyes as he leaned down and picked the sleepy girl up, throwing her over his right shoulder. A sound of protest and shock came from the girls' lips, but the centaur ignored it as he began to walk the path leading to the castle. He held onto the girls thighs with one hand and with the other, held her ankles to prevent her from kicking out at his face or any other part of his body.

Levy blushed madly as she felt the large hands gripping her thighs. "Do you have to put your hand there?!"

Gajeel smirked as he raised a studded brow. "Would you prefer I put it here?" He asked as he moved it to her rear, getting a bigger reaction from the small girl over his shoulder.

"GAJEEL!"

The centaur let out a loud laugh as he moved it back down to her thighs. "Look, I can't carry ya on my back right now, and if you're so sleepy, I suggest you enjoy me carrying you."

"I do have two legs you know! I can walk!" Levy said in anger.

"Yeah, that's true… but let's just consider this payment for me saving you."

"I tended to your wounds, did I not?! Is that not payment enough?!"

"If you'll remember correctly, I saved your life twice. You said so yourself. Tending to my wounds was one way you repaid me. And seeing how my other idea of thanking me wouldn't have gone over well with you, I chose this to be the next best thing." The centaur said with a grin.

Levy blushed as she knew what he had wanted; supposedly wanted. What was with this guy? Saves her life more than once, and expects _that_ in return? She was tired, that fact wasn't a lie. And a small part of her was glad that he was carrying her. She wasn't entirely sure if she would be able to stay awake long enough to walk back on her own. But still…

"How long are you going to carry me like this?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Why? Enjoying yourself up there?" Gajeel teased.

Levy made a fist with one of her hands as she braced herself with the other on his back, reaching around and hitting the arm that was wrapped around her thighs. "You know damn well I am not enjoying this one bit!"

"Calm down, we probably have about an hour left before we get close to the castle. And if you want, we could stop somewhere and get you washed up."

Levy narrowed her eyes as she stopped hitting his arm. "What are you talking about?"

"You still have blood stained on your face from that wolf. Not to mention the dirt you're covered in from being such a klutz. Figured you might want to wash up before you got back to your precious castle."

Levy growled as she attempted to kick her legs in protest. "Will you stop acting like I love that place?! And I will not wash up around you! I will wait until I get back. At least then I know I'll be safe…"

Gajeel glanced back at her. "You sound like you don't believe its safe back there. We can still turn around ya know."

"It is… safe… I just… I can't let them find out that I was with you or the rest of the centaurs at Fairy Tail."

"Heh… sounds to me like they'd kill ya on the spot if they found out."

"Will you just shut up already? Don't talk to me for the rest of the way back. You're not making me feel any better about going back."

Levy's eyes widened as she felt Gajeel pull her down from his shoulder unexpectedly. He held her in his arms as he walked now. She looked up at him, thoroughly confused and about to say something to him when he glanced down at her with his crimson eyes. "Just try to get some sleep. If you ever end up coming back to Fairy Tail, I don't want ya to tell the red head or blondie that I was being mean to you on the way back here."

'_A little late for that, I'd say…'_ Levy thought to herself as she looked away from him. A slight smile came over her face as she closed her eyes half way. _'…but at least he's trying… maybe this is another way he is trying to thank me for helping him…'_

* * *

Gajeel leaned in close to the dying mans bed, Lily stood beside him, tears forming in his small eyes. The centaur looked down at the frail hand that reached up to him, taking it into his own as his eyes went back to Arthur's.

The old man smiled as he held his friends hand. "Promise me, Gajeel… you will protect her, years from now. She will be searching for your kind…. Promise me no matter what happens between the humans and centaurs, you won't push her away. Promise me you will show her the old ways. Befriend her, and she will help you. Do you promise me? Old friend?"

Gajeel looked at him with a serious expression, nodding his head slowly. "I promise."

The man smiled up at the centaur. "Thank you, Gajeel. I am glad to have met you." A smile was over Arthurs face as his last breath left his body. Gajeel's head moved down as he grasped the old man's fragile hand. Lily turned to his friend, placing a hand on his arm.

"I promise to protect your family for generations, old man… I swear on my life I will." The centaur slowly set down the lifeless hand over Arthur's body, standing up quietly and walking out of the house he had been coming to for years. Lily followed him out, looking up to his friend.

"Gajeel?"

A large hand wiped away warm tears that escaped crimson orbs. "Let's go Lily… we'll come back here again soon…."

Gajeel looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms, remembering what his friend had once said. '_I had completely forgotten about what you had asked of me old man… I wish I could have kept our promise.'_

Levy stirred as she began to wake, yawning and stretching her arms out wide. She opened her eyes and looked around. "Hey… I know where we are…"

"You ready to walk then? The castle is just up ahead." Gajeel said as he stopped in his tracks. "I'll walk with you a bit more, but I don't feel like being seen by anyone."

Levy nodded as she held onto her bag. Gajeel set her down, making sure she had her footing before letting her go completely. The girl took a few steps forward, stopping and thinking for a moment. She turned and smiled at Gajeel.

The centaur raised a brow at her. "What's with that look?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to thank you Gajeel. And you don't have to walk with me the rest of the way." She walked back over to the large centaur and stuck out her hand to him, a soft smile on her face. "I hope to see you again soon."

Gajeel glanced down at her extended hand and then back up at her. He stomped his front hoof into the ground as a fly proceeded to gnaw on his leg, his long, black tail swinging around from side to side to help keep the pesky bug off of him. He grinned as he turned his body around. As he walked away, he waved a hand up in the air. "I gotta go get my spear that I left back at camp. Later Shrimp."

Levy rolled her eyes as she smiled slightly. She turned on her heels and headed in the direction of the castle that was nearby.

The centaur stopped and turned his human half around, watching the girl walk away.

"_Promise me, old friend."_

Gajeel closed his eyes and smirked, turning his body back around and walking back the path he came from. "Sure thing, old man. But I ain't fallin' in love with no one."

* * *

Levy opened a heavy wooden door in the back of the castle, peaking her head inside to see if anyone was around. The hall was silent and empty. Levy let out a relieved sigh and slipped inside, closing the door behind her. The girl walked quickly to her room, surprised at the lack of guards around. Not that she was complaining, she honestly was grateful they weren't around. Levy reached her room in a matter of minutes, taking one last look around to make sure no one was watching her slip back in.

The blue haired girl opened the door and quickly made her way inside, closing the door and locking it. She placed a hand over her chest, letting out a deep breath she had held in. Her eyes scanned her room for any sign of disturbance. Nothing has been handled. Levy went over to her bed and set her red bag down, opening it and quickly took out the book with the dark green binding and found a place to hide it. She didn't want anyone to come in and snoop around her room and discover what she had been looking at in the library.

She lifted up one of her loose floor boards and wrapped the book up in an old cloth, placing it gently into the small space before putting the board back in place. A sudden knock on her door made Levy jump right out of her skin. She responded with a shaky voice. "W-Who is it?"

A heavenly sweet voice came from the other end of the door. "It's me, Lisanna. I saw you come in Levy. I brought you something to eat since no one has seen you since the day before last. May I come in?"

Levy scrambled to her feet. "J-Just a minute!" She ran to her nightstand that had a large bowl of water in it, dipping her hands in quickly and throwing water over her face. She grabbed the small towel set aside the bowl and rubbed her face free of the dirt and blood. The door handle jiggled as Lisannas' voice came from behind the door.

"Is everything ok Levy?"

"Yes! Everything is fine! I'll be right there!" The girl looked over her clothes she had been wearing since yesterday morning. They were covered in dirt and grass stains, not to mention some of the wolf's blood had gotten on her as well. She groan softly as she stripped out of her clothes quickly, hearing the door handle jiggle once more. "I'm changing, just a second!"

The young girl ran to her armoire, pulling the doors open and quickly grabbing a night gown off its hanger, pulling it over her body and rushing to the door. She swung the door open and forced a smile on her face. She raised a hand at the white haired maiden holding a small tray of food.

Lisanna was Levy's age and had short white hair with beautiful blue eyes. She often wore a simple tank top with crossed straps and along skirt with a sash tied around her waist. She smiled at Levy as she raised her brows at the petite girl panting heavily as she opened the door, motioning the servant girl to enter her room.

Lisanna made her way inside and set the tray down at the small round table in the room, eyeing the torn off clothes Levy had come in with. She watched Levy shut the door quickly and folded her hands in front of her body. "Would you like for me to wash your clothes, Levy?"

Levy's head snapped towards the other girl, her hands going up in front of her, waving nervously. "No! That's not necessary! I was actually going to throw those clothes away! I uh… ripped them up pretty badly when I was in the woods yesterday. I fell one too many times!" _'And also because of Gajeel and his stupid spear when we first met…'_

Lisanna tilted her head to the side with a smile. "I can sow them back up for you—"

"It's ok Lisanna, really. No need."

The girl shrugged her shoulders and turned around to fix Levy a plate of food. Levy made her way back to the small pile of clothes she had quickly taken off. With her foot, she shoved the pile under her bed. Levy reached down for her bag to retrieve the other book she had packed the day before. She opened it and looked in, quickly growling to herself.

"Damn it… he must have taken the book when I wasn't looking! Stupid Gajeel!"

Levy turned around quickly at the sound of a plate shattering on the wooden floor. Her hazel eyes went up to Lisanna after looking down at the plate. She walked over to the girl and bent down to help her pick up the broken pieces. "Are you ok Lisanna?"

The girl beside Levy smiled and nervously responded. "Y-yes. I'm so sorry Levy. The damn thing must have just slipped right out of my hands. I'll bring you something else to eat if you would like."

Levy stood up with a handful of glass, setting the pieces on the tray as she let out a sigh. "I honestly think I should wash up first. But thank you Lisanna. Does Princess Hisui wish to have our normal lecture tomorrow in the library?"

Lisanna nodded. "Yes, she has requested that you come an hour later. She has a meeting with one of her advisors early in the morning."

Levy smiled at the girl. "That's fine with me. It'll give me some time to catch up on my sleep."

"Well, if that'll be all for you Levy?" Lisanna asked as she grabbed the small tray.

"Yes, thank you again." Levy responded as she walked Lisanna to do the door, opening it for her and then closing it slowly. Levy placed her back against the cool wood and let out a breath. Hazel eyes moved over to the wooden floor board as the girl thought to herself. '_I do need to wash up… but I need to go find Mystogan. I know I can trust him if I speak about centaurs and where I've been…'_

* * *

Lisanna took the small tray back to the kitchen, letting the chef know what had happened before smiling and leaving the crowded room. She made her way down to the deeper part of the castle, making sure no one was following her. She grabbed a lit torch and made her way to the damp and darkened cells. With one last glance around the narrow hallway, Lisanna placed her hand on the cell door, opening it and entering the dark room. She passed cells that had been empty for many years until she reached the last ones at the end of the room. She knelt down and held the flame close to the bars. Her voice was low as she spoke.

"I have good news to report. We might have a way to get the rest of you out of here and back to Fairy Tail."

Small hands reached out for the damp bars that held them in. Red eyes with a small scar over the satyrs left eye came into view with the help of the bright flames. Lily looked up at Lisanna with hopeful eyes.

"Is it Gajeel?"

Lisanna smiled and placed a hand on the satyrs black hair. "Better. Someone from inside the castle."

* * *

**Leahcar-Soutaichou: yes, I am very bad about leaving cliffhangers. I just love to do it in my stories lol. I would like to know if your suspicion was correct or not about the two humans Gajeel was with all those years ago ;)**

**Guest 1: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!**

**Guest 2: haha it would leave me at a very bad place too if I was the one reading this story. hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)**

**Guest 3: Thank you so much! I'm happy to hear people are enjoying this so far. I will say that it is fun to write but also kind of a pain lol I have to remind myself that there are a lot of things that are different between writing humans and writing humans and centaurs.**

**Usweasil: Thank you! ^_^ I really appreciate your feedback!**

**Thank you again for reviewing and please don't forget to review for this chapter as well! I love all of your support and you guys are awesome! Don't ever forget that! :D **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**AN: Hello everyone! Sorry I have not been updating this story in a very long time, I've been caught up working on Beautiful with You. I had most of this chapter done a while ago, but then stopped working on it… I can't honestly remember why I stopped, but I decided to finish it up and post it. I quickly went over it so I think I caught all the mistakes, if not, I'll go back and fix them. Lol I don't know when I'll get another chapter posted, but thank you for those who have been reading, following, faving, and reviewing this story! It means a lot that you all are still reading it even though I haven't updated in forever! I promise I haven't forgotten about it, I just am trying to finish my other story first.**

**Xochilt: haha I'm glad you liked it and that the ending was a bit of a surprise. I like to throw those cliffhangers in a lot along with surprises. More are to come in the next few chapters possibly! :D**

**Guest 1: lol thank you ^_^**

**Guest 2: thank you! I know I while I write this, I try to keep things interesting since its so different.**

**Leahcar-Soutaichou: hehehe yeah… he's probably going to be in denial for a while. But we'll see ;) **

**Guest FancyDuck: thank you so much! I'm glad to hear you enjoy this story! I actually have been updating Beautiful with You quite a bit so please go check it out if you haven't already :)**

**Bluestarch12: yes there will be more :) I just don't know when after this chapter. Lol and thank you so much! ^^ It means a lot to hear you say that!**

* * *

Levy stood before her bath, her mind full of questions. She reached up to her headband, slowly pulling it back through her hair and letting it fall out of her hands beside her. Soft hands reached up to her shoulders, slowly removing the fabric she had thrown on her body before letting Lisanna into her room. Her body had ached from sleeping on such a hard ground, the realization finally hitting the young girl. Levy closed her eyes as she stepped into the warm waters, sinking down until her whole body was submerged in water. She slowly came back up, running her hands over her face and over her hair.

Hazel eyes opened once more as she looked down at her body. It had scratches and stains all over. She frowned as she grabbed a small wash cloth and began to run it over her body. '_Note to self… dress more appropriately when going out to the woods… you'll never know what you'll run into…'_

Within minutes, the girl had finished washing her body free of the dirt and grime left from her short adventure in the forest. She laid there in the warm water, thinking about everything that had happened, her eyes closed as she thought back to Fairy Tail.

'_I want to know more about that place… about them… maybe I can try to find my way back there soon. Then again… maybe that isn't the best idea. I really don't want to upset Erza and have myself killed. Not to mention I'm not entirely sure when I can get out of this place again. I'm sure they'll have an extra guard following me around now.'_

Levy stretched her arms as she yawned, her eyes opening half way as she looked up at her ceiling. "Perhaps Mystogan knows how I can get back there. He's wise and someone I can trust… I just need to come up with an excuse to leave this place again…"

* * *

Laxus knocked on the door, waiting patiently for word from inside. His hand grasped his sword hilt, his gray eyes looking over the new scar he was given on his arm from Gajeel in their last fight together. He cursed himself for letting the centaur get that close to him to begin with, knowing he had let his guard down at the mentioning of his princess.

His eyes came back up to the door as a feminine voice summoned him into the room. Laxus raised his hand and gripped the door handled, pushing the door open slowly. "Princess Hisui, I have word on the centaurs." He said calmly as he entered the room. His eyes looked over to the bed where the princess was. Laxus quickly turned his attention away from her, seeing how she wasn't alone. "I could come back when you are finished Princess."

Princess Hisui turned her head towards Laxus as she sat on top of one of the guards he commanded. Her large dark green eyes stared back at Laxus with a smile over her face as she spoke. "No need general. I am finished with him." Her eyes looked back to the man underneath her petite form. "Leave us at once."

"Yes, Princess Hisui." The man waited for her to move away from him before quickly moving to the edge of the large bed, leaning over and picking up his clothes. He slipped on his pants and made his way to the door, rushing past his general. Laxus kept his eyes forward as the princess slipped on a robe that was hanging on the wall next to her bed. She reached behind her head, pulling out her long wavy green hair and letting it fall back down onto her back. She looked to Laxus as she sat back down on her bed.

"Please come in. Tell me, what have you seen?" She said with a sly smile.

Laxus closed the door behind him, not wanting anyone to hear what he was about to say. As he made his way to the woman sitting on the bed, the general spoke. "Our men were ambushed yesterday, only one survived. I myself was attacked by Black Steel. Princess… I have reason to believe that there are still centaurs living in the forest nearby. We need to gather our army and burn it down to the ground. Flush them out and kill them one by one until there are none left in this world."

The princess turned her head slightly as she listened to Laxus speak, her own thoughts forming in her head. "Why can't we just simply imprison them or make them my servants? Better yet, make them part of the… _entertainment_ for my upcoming party?" Dark green eyes looked up into gray, a smirk over her face. "I know quite a few kings and queens who would pay a great sum to see these creatures up close…"

Laxus closed his eyes lightly as he spoke. "Forgive me princess, but I don't think that is a good idea. These creatures are very unpredictable."

Princess Hisui stood slowly, walking over to Laxus and placed a hand over his chest. "Come, come now, General." As she spoke, she walked around Laxus slowly, running her hand over his muscular body. "You know that I have ways of taming these beasts you speak of…"

She could feel a deep breath enter Laxus's chest as she ran her hand over him. "All I need from you and your men, is to bring them to me… alive. If you can do that for me…" The green haired woman turned Laxus around to face her, pushing him back lightly as she spoke. "I can make it worth your while, General."

With the last word leaving her mouth, Laxus fell back onto her bed, his hand still clutching onto his swords hilt tightly, trying not to think about his princess and what she was doing to him at this moment. He watched her dark green eyes coming closer to him as she climbed on top of his large body, her hands on either sides of his head. "So will you do this for me?"

Laxus swallowed the large lump in his throat before he spoke. "What of the black centaur? Black Steel?"

Hisui leaned in close to the generals' face, brushing her warm lips over his. She could feel him breathing her in, fighting his urge to grab her at this moment. "Bring him to me personally. I have something special planned for him."

Laxus cursed himself for taking off his armor before he came to see her as he laid under the princess's form. He could feel the blood rushing down through his body as he felt her legs press against his inner thigh. His teeth clenched together in hopes she would not notice him and quickly return to whatever she was going to do after she had her way with one of his men.

"Then I should go at once then, excuse me princess." Laxus said as he began to sit up. The princess pushed him back down onto her bed. His gray eyes looked up at her as she smiled, leaning back into his face with a light blush on her own face.

"I'm not finished with you yet general. And those centaurs can wait a while."

"Princess?"

"Since you have interrupted my session with one of your men…" Hisui sat up and brought a hand up to her shoulder, gripping the robe and slowly pulling it down. She brought her other hand up and did the same to the other shoulder, letting the robe slip down to her waist. "I want you to finish the job. This is an order general."

Laxus's eyes fell upon the large breasts then back up to dark green eyes. He knew he could not disobey a direct order from his princess. He slowly brought his hands ups, gripping each breast with his large hands, watching the princess's face flush along with a small gasp escaping her throat. He moved his hands in a circle slowly, teasing her sensitive buds with his thumbs occasionally. The princess brought her own hands up to his, gripping them as they moved.

Hisui began to rock her hips back and forth as she sat on top of the general, feeling his presence between her thighs growing harder. She smiled as she looked down at the blonde haired man beneath her. Laxus looked up at green eyes, glazing over and lustful. He quickly moved his hands to her hips, gripping her tightly as he rolled her over to her back. His lips went straight to hers as he rocked himself into her body.

A knock on the door stopped both the princess and general in their tracks. A heavy sigh came from the woman under Laxus as he stared down in disappointment. As he stood, he adjusted his clothes and let out a cough. The princess pulled her robe back up over her shoulders as she sat up on the bed. "Come in."

Lisanna opened the door and entered slowly, carrying a small tray in her hands. "Princess, I've brought your—oh my! I-I'm so sorry for interrupting!" The white haired maiden said quickly as she eyed Laxus and the princess.

Hisui stood and walked over to the girl. "It's quite alright, Lisanna. The general was just leaving. Did you instruct Levy to meet with me an hour later than usual tomorrow?" She asked as she made her way to the young girl, eyeing Laxus as he left the room.

Lisanna nodded as she set the tray down on the table. "Yes, princess. Is there anything else you need from me?

Hisui shook her head as she smiled kindly to the young servant girl. "No, thank you Lisanna."

The white haired maiden bowed slightly and turned around to leave, the princess's voice stopping her slightly. "Lisanna."

The girl smiled as she turned back around. "Yes, Princess?"

"Make sure your friends get some food as well. I want them all looking in good shape."

Lisanna clenched her jaw as she watched the green haired princess take a grape from the plate, smirking as she put the small fruit to her lips. Lisanna forced a smile as she responded. "Of course. I'll inform the chef."

"Oh and… don't feed the blue one… I want him to be released." Princes Hisui turned around and walked over to her wardrobe, opening its large doors as she scanned through her dresses.

Lisannas eyes grew suspicious at the princess's request. "You… want me to release one, princess?"

Green eyes turned to look back at the confused girl. "Yes. I fear that I've grown bored with him. When you go down to feed them, please release him."

"As… you wish." Lisanna clenched her fists tightly as she left the room, not wanting to be around this woman much longer. '_What is she up to? Why does she just want Happy to be released? This doesn't make any sense…. I have to tell Lily that our plans might have just been changed.'_

Lisanna moved quickly through the halls, trying to make her way to the kitchen as fast as she could. The white haired girl turned a corner and crashed right into someone slightly smaller than her. Both landed on the ground with a thud. Blue eyes looked up into hazel as Levy looked back at Lisanna in surprise. "Levy!"

"Hey Lisanna. Sorry bout that, I guess I wasn't watching where I was walking again."

Lisanna half smiled and helped Levy up as she stood. "It's my fault, so no harm done." The white haired girl looked over Levy who had her small red bag with a few books inside of it. Her eyes managed to catch a glimpse of a dark green book, knowing what it was almost immediately. "Where were you headed off to Levy?"

The small girl adjusted her bag on her shoulder, closing the open bag with her hand, hiding its contents. "Um. Just heading down to see Mystogan. I have a few questions about some herbs I found while I was heading back to the castle. Did you need something Lisanna?"

Lisanna stood in silence for a long minute, debating if she should tell Levy her secret. She shook her head and leaned in close to Levy. "Please just be careful." Without another word, Lisanna moved past Levy, heading hastily to the kitchen once more.

Levy turned and watched her leave with wide and confused eyes. "What was that all about? Please be careful?" The petite girl shook off Lisannas warning as she made her way down the castles deeper chambers where Mystogan was. Mystogan was an unusual individual, but Levy didn't mind. She found him to be quite interesting and full of knowledge. Even as a young girl, she enjoyed coming down to see him, to pick at his brain, and to watch him perform "magic." Or so she thought when she was younger. She knew now that it was simply him creating different potions and healing salves. Levy had never seen what Mystogan really looked like, and had doubts that anyone else in the castle had ever see his face either. He normally wore a dark blue cloak and his arms and legs are mostly covered in bandages. He also was known to wear a dark blue bandana with a silver forehead protector, and a green mask that obscured the bottom half of his face to hide his identity from everyone. Levy never understood why he would want to hide his identity from anyone in the castle, but never questioned it.

The girl struggled to open the heavy door to Mystogans' chamber, pushing it open with her whole body. Once open, Levy let out a breath of relief. "You know this door could be easier to open if you just told someone to fix it Mystogan." Levy said as she looked up to the masked man at a table nearby; his back to her.

The man stood up straight and turned his head slightly. "Not everyone has a problem opening that door." His head went back down to his work as Levy stepped up beside Mystogan, setting her bag down on the table. "What brings you down here?"

"I wanted to talk to someone. Someone I could trust."

Mystogan's hands paused their movement, his head turned back down to Levy who stared into him with serious hazel eyes. Levy continued as she knew she had his full attention. "Mystogan… I wanted to know more about… something…. So the other day, I left the castle in secret and followed a group of men into the forest. They were ambushed and not by any wild animal either. Well, technically, part animal… part—"

"Human?" Mystogan said calmly.

Levy's eyes widened as she watched him turn his attention back to his work. "You, know about _them_?"

"I believe the correct term is Centaurs. And yes. I know of them… all too well."

Levy's hands turned into fists as she lifted them up to her chest. "Then you must now what happened all those years ago! What happened during the battle of Hades?! What happened to Mavis and the other centaurs?! Why are we hunting them?"

Mystogan stared at his vials in his hands. A heavy sigh leaving his lips. "There are many questions that you have, I can tell you would like to ask me more. But I cannot help you Levy. To speak about this matter… it would cost me my life if anyone was to hear us. This castle has ears and eyes in many places. You need to be careful who you talk to about this."

Levy shoved her hands down to her side in frustration, turning around and walking away from the man. "I know, I know. But that's why I came here. I know I can trust you. You say that you know about centaurs all too well." Levy turned around to face Mystogan as he mixed the two liquids from his vials together, creating a small purple puff of smoke. "Please, Mystogan… can't you tell me anything? Anything at all about what happened?"

His silence became her answer. Levy's eyes softened as they looked down at the ground. "I saw where they lived. I wanted to know more about them but they didn't let me stay. They said they have some history with humans. They told me that we took away their friends and had them killed in front of the centaurs." Levy looked back up at the masked man, his hands rested on the table as his head hung down. "Do you… know about this?"

Mystogan waited to answer the young girl, his body still. "No. I do not."

Levy could tell he was lying. This man in front of her knew something. She didn't know why he wasn't willing to tell her of all people about it. She let out a sigh as she looked down. After minutes of silence, Levy looked back up at the man. "Well… if you change your mind and trust me enough to share your secrets… you know where to find me." The blue haired girl grabbed her red bag from the table and turned around to leave. Mystogan turned his head slightly, watching her walk out of the room, struggling to close the door behind her. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he sat down in one of his nearby chairs. A hand reached up and lowered the green fabric covering most of his face.

He brought a hand up to the side of his face, his mind going back to the past, many years ago. He still remembered what had happened on the castle grounds that day the centaurs came. He remembered the looks on all of their faces when he had to use his illusion magic to make it appear that the centaurs' comrades had been murdered. He could still remember the looks on all of their faces. The look on _her _face. His eyes glanced down to his bandaged wrist, looking over the leather bracelet. His fist clenched tightly as he looked away. Guilt still remained inside of him, even after all these years.

* * *

"This was a direct order from Princess Hisui herself! You cannot deny her commands!" Lisanna said angrily to the large chef in front of her. The large man scoffed as he rolled his eyes, his attention going back to the black pot over the fire.

"Look, I'm not wasting our good food on your kind. They can waste away in those cells for all I care. That spoiled princess wants them to look good for her party, I could care less. And since I'm in charge of the food around here, what I say, goes. Now get out of here before I call one of the guards."

The white haired girl growled slightly to herself as she clenched her fists. She turned on her heels and started storming out of the kitchen. Her eyes looked over to the small broken plate with food still left on it from Levy's' room. Lisanna looked back to the chef who was flirting with one of the woman who worked for the princess. Her head snapped back to the food as she quickly grabbed her sash, forming a small pouch to carry the food in. once she grabbed all she could, she took one glance back to make sure no one had seen her. The white haired girl rushed out of the kitchen and made her way down to the cells deep within the castle.

* * *

Lily rubbed his chin after hearing what Lisanna had been instructed to do. "Hm… so she wants Happy to be released but the rest of us to stay…. What is she planning?"

Lisanna shook her head as she held onto the cold, damp bars. "Lily I'm not sure of her plans for the rest of you… but I don't like how she wants just Happy to leave here. Why would she keep us all here this long and then all of a sudden let one of us go? It just doesn't make sense."

"Perhaps we should just do as she says and let Happy go. He could go find the others and tell them what really happened all those years ago. Then perhaps they could come up with a plan to get the rest of us out as well."

"I think I'm going to tell Levy our secret. She might be able to help us too. It'll be easier with her help since she is trusted by the princess and just about everyone in this castle. I'm not sure about the general, but I know it would help to have her on our side."

Pantherlily grinned as he stretched out a small hand to Lisannas. "We'll get out of here. Don't you worry. Just let Happy out and we can send a message with him to the others. We have to be smart about this… this may be our only chance to escape this horrible place."

Lisanna smiled weakly. "I hope you are right, Lily. I just want to see my big brother and sister again… I just want to go home. I'm tired of this human body." The white haired girl said as she clenched her one fist that was decorated with a leather bracelet. "I cannot wait to take this damn thing off. That's another reason why we need Levy's' help. She can probably remove this enchantment from the bracelet."

"First things first, let's come up with a message for Happy to take back with him to Fairy Tail."

Lisanna smiled in determination, her head nodding. "Right."

* * *

**AN: Please review and don't forget to check out my other story, Beautiful with You! and please give my friend some love. She is an amazing writer and her stories are some great Gajevy material. MsKtk is her name!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Chapter 7**

**A long reason why I have not updated is written below, read if you want to, if not, review replies are right below following is chapter 7**

**So, first off, I want to apologize for not updating this story in forever. I had been working on it in between working on Beautiful with You, and I had planned on getting this chapter done on my birthday which was early January but… I had received some bad news from my parents the day before my bday. My parents bought the family a puppy ten years ago, and she was basically my baby. I know, that sounds weird, but for those who have pets, you know what I'm talking about. She was the love of my life and I basically put her first to anything or anyone in my life. My dad and I were the ones who trained her the most so she definitely looked up to us. She was perfect, and so sweet, and such a goofball. I had just moved out of my parents' house in July and I was torn because I would not be living with her anymore. But all was ok because I was literally 5 minutes away from them. I saw her on my days off or when I went to go visit my parents, and I would always receive the happiest expression a dog could give you. With a whole body shaking in excitement and a wrecking ball of a tail that would knock over anything in its path, and tons of kisses as I got down to see her on her level. Anyway, she was healthy, and very spoiled (prob the most spoiled thing on the earth!) until a couple years ago, I noticed she had bumps forming over her mammary gland area. I told my mom and she said if they aren't getting any bigger, I'm not taking her to the vet. And at the time, I didn't have money to have to get checked out, but I kept my eyes on it. Over time, they stayed the same until sometime last year, the glands had swelled up and started to change colors. So my parents finally took her to the vet and found out she had a really bad infection and her glands needed to be drained. I had already moved out and was always worrying about my pup, seeing her on my days off became a must because she was stuck with the cone of shame, but slowly began to become her old, happy self once the gland was drained. For a while, all seemed to be fine. She was acting like her crazy normal self, loving every second of everything. I guess one day, she got up too fast and ended up tearing a ligament in her back leg. Mind you she was a pure bred German shepherd, with no medical problems from her mother and father ( we got a full background on both when we got her from a breeder, papers, etc. ) so once again, she was taken to the vet. During this time, her other side of her mammary glands began to swell up like before. So while they were there, my parents had the vet take a look, they said it looked like it just needed drained once more, but decided to open her up. What they found was a tumor. I was devastated when my dad told me. All I could think about was… was it cancer? Or just a fatty tumor? Is she going to be ok now that they removed it? The vet had told my parents that they could have tested the tumor for cancer but it was going to be an extra $150 that my parents didn't have. The vet bills were already starting to rack up. I offered to help pay for anything that I could but my parents said they could manage. As time went on, my dog once again, started to act like herself, trying to climb over the couch to get up the blocked stairs even though she wasn't allowed to, because she had staples in her belly. A month had passed and she was able to go without the cone, but her back end was still limping. A trip back to the vet told my parents, it could still be the ligament or it could be what we feared when we took out the tumor. The tumor could have spread up to her spine and could be affecting her nerves, causing her to be unable to walk on that leg. So she got pain meds. And a lot of them. She was supposed to be on them for 6 weeks. Within 3 weeks, my parents could tell that things just weren't going well… she started sleeping standing up because she couldn't lay down, her legs and paws would swell from standing for 24+ hours, and when she laid down finally, she would be down for over a day, causing her good leg to swell and basically fall asleep. They would help her up, get her outside so she could go potty and what not, let her walk around and it got easier the longer she was up, but then she stopped eating. They tried everything to get her to eat, but nothing was helping. Every time I went to see her, she always had that happy and excited expression on her face, but sadly could no longer come to the door and greet me. All she could do was put her ears back and wag her tail as I went to her. I could feel her bones starting to poke out more, and I saw how much of a struggle it was to get her up. I had a feeling in my heart that it was close to being time to say goodbye. I have always been one to believe that if an animal is suffering, to just do the right thing and put it to rest. Don't let it suffer in pain if it can't be helped. In my dogs' case, nothing could be done. We found out that the tumors had spread and it got so bad to the point where she was just having accidents in the house, she would cry knowing she wanted to get outside and go out there, but she couldn't stand. No longer able to stand by herself or with assistance. So, January 5****th****, I was at work like usual, they called for a snow day and I volunteered to stay the whole day, keep an eye on the horses and then feed in the evening. Shortly after everyone had left, I got a text from my dad. He told me that they have to put Heidi down. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I just sat there staring at my phone. I had a feeling for a while that it was coming soon but getting that kind of news before your birthday is… just rough. It's worse than rough, I honestly don't have the words to describe it. I asked him if I could be there when it happens, and he told me that it will be done in a week basically. So every chance I got, I went to see her. And on the day we were going to put her down, my sisters who had also moved out, came back home to spend time with her with me. My parents were at work so when they came home, it was time. I tried to be strong the whole day, tried not to cry because that's all I was doing at home. I didn't want to let anyone see me upset. But when you have to help your dog onto a sled to get her into the car and into the vets' office, it's so hard not to be upset. We all were there as a family, petting her until the very end, talking to her. I told her before she went, how much I loved her, how much she meant to me, and that I wish it didn't have to be this way. But I know she was suffering and I didn't want that for her. I wanted her to be able to run around like she used to, I wanted her to be that happy, excited, loveable dog again. Seeing her in so much pain, was heartbreaking. I told her that I would see her again, and that she should be a good girl while she is up in heaven. She gave me kisses and I just continued to lose it. I just let the tears come. I didn't care how much I was hurting inside. I just wanted her suffering to end. She meant the world to me, and I know nothing can replace her. **

**But that is the reason why I have been unable to write. After she had passed, I tried to keep myself busy with games, writing, drawing, hanging out with my friends. For the most part, I just felt numb. But then I would just have wave upon wave of emotion come over me and just cry. It's been almost 2 months now since she had to be put down and I've tried countless times to work on my stories. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was still upset. I still am now (Especially typing all this out) but I told myself that I needed to do this. Even my friend MsKtk told me that I should just bust this chapter out since it was almost done to begin with. But now of course I'm getting distracted by the pokemon games that came out and other things like animes that I've been watching with friends… and now I get to look forward to planning a wedding. My boyfriend of 10 years finally decided to purpose to me with the coolest pokemon engagement ring ever. (huge pokemon fan if you didn't know lol) so I've been trying to keep my mind on happier thoughts since then. I'm going to try to really keep my focus on fanfiction once more and try not to get so far behind on updating. **

**I'm sorry for telling such a sad story, but I owe it to you guys to tell you why I have been neglecting this story for so long. I also wanted to thank you for your patience and wanted to let you all know that I am very close to finishing Beautiful with You so that my main focus could then go to this story.**

**I feel that I may have rushed a bit in this chapter, but if I feel up to it, I'll go back and edit it one day. For now, all I can hope for is that you enjoy it. (also I am very sorry for any mistakes I have missed, I didn't reread over what I had written!)**

**Sydney: thank you so much! I'm really happy to hear you love this story so far! And I swear I will not abandon this story, I just want to get my other main one finished first.**

**Leahcar-Soutaichou: haha yes, yes it does. And as for the princess… there is a bit more than meets the eye. ;) I'll be going into that little hint in the next chapter.**

**piranha pk: you probably hate me even more for not updating sooner again lol I am sorry. And as for the very little Gajevy interactions, trust me, there will be more. Just gotta get through a few things before they are reunited.**

**Usweasil: again, sorry for the late update this time too! Please enjoy this chapter!**

**SnowSisterBookworm: thank you so much! I have a few things planned for this story and where its headed, so hopefully I can put my thoughts into words and it'll all make sense of what im trying to say lol**

**Northernrainstorm: thank you! I'm glad you like it so far!**

**Guest 1: I know, I am very good about leaving cliffhangers in almost all of my stories. And I wanted to say I am sorry for not updating sooner! I really wanted to get this done last month**

**Guest 2: Yeppers! Lily is still alive! And I agree. He really isn't the same without his friend lol**

**Guest 3: there will be more interactions between Gajevy soon! :) but not all of them will be… well... "good" lol**

* * *

Levy closed the heavy book in front of her as she finished up her lecture with the princess who sat beside her. Hisui brought her elbows up to the table and intertwined her fingers together as she set her chin down on them lightly, her big green eyes looking to Levy as she piled her papers together. "I'm terribly sorry I didn't have much for you today, Princess… I just was preoccupied these past few days."

Hisui smiled. "No need to apologize, Levy. If you wish, you can take the rest of the week off. I am going to be busy planning my upcoming party in a few days. Besides…" The princess moved a hand to Levy's' bangs, brushing them behind her ear slowly. "You have been working extra hard as of late… haven't you?"

Levy stared at the girl beside her, her hazel eyes wide in fear. '_Does… does she know what I've been looking into?_' Levy shifted slightly in her seat, her head turning away from Hisui. "Um, yes… yes I have been. I've… been trying to come up with a new healing salve with Mystogan and it seems to be proving more difficult than I had thought."

"I see." The green haired princess stood, her green eyes still on Levy. "Well, I would like to view your results once you both have found something that works. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to."

Levy stood quickly. "Yes! Of course princess. I will find you once we find something in our research."

Hisui smiled as walked away from the table she sat at, leaving the library room with her royal guards behind her. Levy waited for them to close the library doors before letting out a long sigh, her body falling back into her chair. '_Maybe Mystogan was right about the eyes and ears in this castle… why else would princess Hisui ask me a question like that? She has to know I'm up to something…_' Levy brought a hand to her head, closing her eyes softly as she took in a breath. '_Just remain calm… if she sees you all worked up and fearful, she'll definitely figure it out that you are up to something….'_

* * *

Lisanna tied the small green bag around Happys' neck, slipping a note inside the small opening. "Ok… all you have to do Happy, is take this note to Erza. She'll know what to do once she reads it."

The small satyr turned to the white haired girl, fear in his eyes. "But what about you and the rest? I can't just leave you guys… we're a family…"

Lisanna smiled at the satyr, placing a hand on top of his head lightly in between his blue horns. "We'll be ok, Happy. I know someone who can help us get out of here and get these bracelets off our wrists so we can be centaurs again. Do you remember how to get to Fairy Tail?" Happy nodded slowly. Lisanna nodded as she stood up. "Good. Now let's get you out of here." The white haired maiden turned and walked out of the cell, the small satyr following right behind her.

* * *

Levy rubbed her tired eye as she made her way back to her room, exhausted still from everything that had happened. _'I wonder if Gajeel made it back to Fairy Tail ok… and I really hope he hasn't done any damage to my book! He had so much nerve to take it from me… probably did it when he was taking me back here…_' The blue haired girl made a fist with her hand, bringing it up to her chest some. '_I swear I'm going to get it back! I might even give him a punch in the arm while I'm at it!'_ Levy sighed as she hung her head in disappointment. '_What's the use in punching him? My punch would probably feel like that annoying fly that was bothering him when we said goodbye…'_

The young girl brought her head back up, eyeing someone at her door to her room. She raised a brow as she stepped closer to the individual. "Lisanna?"

Blue eyes matched hazel, relief in her facial expression. "Oh good, you're still in the castle!"

"Yeah… is something wrong?" Levy asked kindly.

Lisanna looked past Levy, then turned to look over her shoulder, her hand coming up to her lips as she whispered. "There's something I need to tell you… but we have to do it in your room. I can't tell you out here…"

"Ok… but why are you whispering?"

"Because if I get caught telling you this secret, I could very well get into a lot of trouble."

Levy could read her face like an open book. She wasn't lying and was being completely serious, making Levy start to worry. "O-ok… well let's get in here then…" She said as she opened her door, letting the white haired girl in first before entering herself. Levy closed the door behind her and walked over to her bed, setting down the books and papers she had been carrying from the library. "So, you gonna tell me what's going on? And why you couldn't talk to me outside?" Hazel eyes narrowed slightly as Lisanna held out her arm to the girl. "Um… I'm confused…"

"I need you to take off my bracelet." Lisanna said seriously.

"What? That's a really weird request… why can't you take it off?"

"This bracelet is enchanted and can only be removed and put on by humans."

Levy raised a brow and pointed a finger at Lisanna. "But… aren't you human?"

The white haired girl stomped her foot onto the ground as she thrust her arm forward. "If I was human, I would just take it off myself! Levy… please… I need to show you something… this is important."

Levy smiled slightly as she turned her back to the servant girl. "Don't you think it's a bit childish for tricks, Lisanna? What you are asking of me to do sound like a ridiculous request. What's going to happen when I take that bracelet off?"

"I'll turn back into a centaur."

Levy's eyes widened, her hands pausing all movements. "You'll…" She turned back around to look at Lisanna with wide hazel eyes. "You'll what?"

"You heard me. I'll turn back into a centaur." The girl said seriously.

"You're just pulling my leg, right? Seriously… I'm not in the mood for tricks…" Levy said with a shaky voice.

"If you don't believe me then take this damned thing off. Like I told you before, I can't do it myself… otherwise I would have done it years ago."

Levy stepped forward towards the outstretched arm. "This isn't some game is it? What you say is the truth?"

Lisannas' expression softened. "I would never lie to you Levy. And once you take this off, I can tell you how I ended up in this mess in the first place."

Levy nodded as she stepped up to Lisannas' arm, her hands slowly making their way to the leather piece over white skin. The white haired girl pulled her hand away, causing Levy to look at her in confusion. "Wait, I'm sorry… but I don't want to ruin this skirt…"

Levy raised a brow as Lisanna spoke, her cheeks turning red almost instantly as she watched the young girl begin to slide down her skirt, leaving on the sash that laid over it. "W-what are you doing?!"

Lisanna blushed slightly herself as she stood back up straight, pulling the sash over the front of her body to keep herself covered. "I don't want to ruin that skirt when I transform back into my centaur body."

Levy kept her hazel eyes on blue ones as she reached out once more for the outstretched arm Lisanna was presenting to her. "I… I guess that makes sense… ok… here we go…" The blue haired girl slowly removed the bracelet, stepping back a few steps as she watched the sight before her. Her own hazel eyes widening as a bright light began to shine over the girl standing in front of her. Levy watched as the girl began to change form, her lower half growing slightly into long, slender horse legs as her backend started to extend into her the rest of her centaur body.

The bright light faded almost as quickly as it had appeared, revealing Lisannas' true form. Her centaur body was white as her hair with the fur changing to a greyish color near the bottom of her legs. Levy felt her jaw drop as Lisanna looked over her shoulder at her centaur body behind her, a wide smile over her face as her blue eyes widened in excitement. '_I don't… believe it… she was telling me the truth… she's really a centaur!'_

The white haired centaur looked to the shocked look over Levys' face. She giggled as she stepped towards her, her hands coming together in front of her. "Thank you so much Levy. This feels so nice to be back in my real form. Now then…" Lisanna held out her hand towards the bed, motioning for Levy to sit down. "Would you like to know what happened to me and my friends?"

Levy shook her head quickly, her hands forming into fists as she held them up excitedly. "Yes! Please, tell me everything that you can." She said as she made her way to the bed, sitting down on it and giving Lisanna her undivided attention.

* * *

Natsu looked off to the side as he walked behind Lucy, her words going through one of his ears and out the other as his mind wandered. The blonde centaur walking in front of him turned her head back to look at the pink haired centaur. He had a distant look over his face as his hands were held up behind this head. Lucy glared back at him, putting her hands to her sides as she stopped walking altogether, stomping one of her hooves on the hard ground. "Natsu! Are you even listening to me?!" She asked angrily.

"Yeah, yeah… I heard you…" He said calmly.

Lucy turned to face him, her arms crossing over her chest as she spoke. "Oh, then you'll have absolutely no trouble repeating what I just said to you! Well, go on! Let's hear it!"

Natsu turned his distant gaze to Lucy for a moment before his eyes shifted past her. Something else had just caught his attention. Something small. Something running as fast as its tiny legs could carry it. Onyx eyes slowly began to widen, as the red centaurs' mouth opened slightly. Lucy watched as shock and disbelief began to wash over the centaur, causing her to become confused. She raised a brow and opened her mouth to speak, but Natsu ran past her before she could say anything.

Chocolate brown eyes followed the centaur that had rushed past her, her own eyes looking out to the very familiar sight running towards them. Tears began to form in the corners of her big eyes, disbelief now coming over her. Black hooves skid into the ground, halting the centaur in his tracks as he quickly stretched out his arms to catch the small satyr as it jumped up to greet him. "HAPPY!" Natsu shouted excitedly.

"NATSU!" The satyr replied, tears rolling down his dirtied cheeks. His arms stretched out as Natsu did the same. The small satyr could feel Natsus' strong arms wrapping around him in a tight embrace, as if he was afraid to let the small creature go.

"I can't believe it's you, Happy! I thought you were dead! I saw them kill you and the others! How are you here right now?!" Natsu said excitedly as he held the satyr in his arms.

Happy smiled weakly as he spoke. "It was all an illusion, Natsu. The others and I were thrown into a cell after you all were chased off… I tried to call out to you… everyone did… but… you couldn't hear us…."

Natsu released his tight grip, their tearful eyes locking onto each other's. "How… how did you manage to escape?"

The satyr looked away, his hand reached back to the small note tucked away in his small bag tied around his neck. "The princess let me go for some reason… Lisanna gave me this note to show Erza and the others. She's coming up with a plan to get the rest of them out of that horrible place… she told me she has someone else to help her from the inside… but I'm not sure who she was talking about." Happy handed the note to Natsu, his large eyes tearing up once more. "I didn't want to leave them… really I didn't… but I didn't have a choice…."

Natsu smiled as he brought a hand to the satyrs' blue hair on top of his head. "It's ok, Happy. We'll figure something out. Let's just get back to Fairy Tail and tell the others. I'm sure they'll help us think of something to save the rest of our friends."

The small satyr looked up at the blonde centaur walking up to them both, a soft and sweet smile formed over her lips as she looked at Happy. She reached out and placed her hand onto Happys' cheek, rubbing it lightly. "Happy… We've missed you so much."

"Lucy…" Happy said softly. His large eyes looking upon her smiling face. He would often keep that image in his mind while he was locked away in that dark cell. Her smile was equal to the sun, shining brightly and showering him with love. He was finally back with his friends. His family. Tears began to swell once more as he jumped from Natsu to Lucy, burying his face into her as he cried happily, overjoyed by seeing them. He was finally able to return home.

* * *

Levy clenched her fists tightly. Lisannas' story made her blood boil with anger. "I can't believe it… Gajeel told me just a fraction of what happened… of what he saw… but your story…" Hazel eyes shifted up to blue. "All this time… I never knew… I swear I would have helped you sooner had I known…"

Lisanna looked back at Levy with a slight smile. "There is hope. Princess Hisui has let one of the satyrs go, and before he left, I attached a note for everyone to read in Fairy Tail. I have a plan to get us out of this horrible place… but… I'll need your help Levy."

Levy jumped from her seat, her hands forming fists in front of her body. "Yes! Anything! I want to help you all get out of here and back to Fairy Tail!" Her anger turned quickly into determination. "So what can I do to help you?"

Lisanna smiled as she spoke. "Well… you know the princess has a party coming up, yes?"

"Yeah, it's where she invites all the royals here for some ball dancing thing… I don't really know much about it since I never attended to one before."

"That's ok. I don't need you to be anywhere near them. All I need from you, is to make sure all the guards are away from their posts when I get the others and escape."

"What?! How am I supposed to do that?! I'm just one person!"

Lisanna winked at the young girl. "Don't worry, I have a plan for that as well."

* * *

Natsu looked around the large room, his hands stretched out at his sides as he spoke. "So?! What do you think? It's a good plan, right?!"

Erza finished reading over the small note the satyr had brought back with him, her eyes closed softly as she folded her arms together. Natsu turned to the rest of the centaurs who had come to listen to Natsu.

Gray rubbed the back of his head as he spoke. "You're talking about storming the castle right now? are you freaken' stupid?!"

Natsu clenched his fists tightly as he turned to the shirtless centaur. "Hell yeah I'm sayin' we do that! Right now! What better chance is there?! They'll never see it coming if we just bust down those castle doors, tear up the place and then rescue everyone!"

"I'm with Natsu on this one!" Everyone turned their heads to the largest centaur in Fairy Tail. He was quite muscular and had a larger, tankish like centaur body. It was white, just like his wild, spikey hair, with the fur turning a greyish color on his large legs. He had made a fist and punched his open palm as he stepped forward. "It'll be super tough, but I think us manly centaurs can do it! I say we do what Natsu suggested! There's no way they can win with all of us running through the castle gates!"

Cana brought the large mug away from her lips, a soft sigh escaping her as she shrugged her shoulders. "I think we should at least come up with some form of plan first…"

Natsu shifted his body to face Cana now. "We do have a plan! Plan T!"

Canas' brown eyes narrowed as she eyed Natsu. "What exactly is plan "T?"

Natsu opened his mouth wide, letting out a breath of fire as he spoke excitedly. "Take em' by storm!"

Gray shook his head and pointed a finger to Natsu. "That's completely ridiculous! Not to mention stupid! You're just going to get yourself killed!"

The whole room burst into arguments over what should be done next. Erza stood there, still and silent. Lucy was standing off to the side, holding Happy in her arms, watching everyone begin to argue and raise fists at each other. She let out a sigh of disappointment. Happy turned his head up to her, his voice soft. "What do you think we should do Lucy?"

Brown eyes shifted off to the side. "I… I don't know… I want to get our friends back just as much as Natsu does… but something doesn't seem right about all of this…."

Before Happy could say anything, a booming and demanding voice echoed throughout the room, causing dead silence to come over everyone.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Erza shouted as her eyes opened wide. Her eyes landed on Natsu who had formed flames in his hands, and Gray who was about to use his own magic against the red centaur. "Natsu. Gray." No sooner did her words leave her mouth, did the two centaurs stand up straight, fear coming over them. With no further need to say anything else to them, Erza looked around the room, her centaur form moving forward as she spoke. "I know you all want to run out and rescue the rest of our friends. Trust me, I would love nothing more than to get them all back too… but we can't just run in there without a plan first. This very well may be a trap. We need to take a few days and think about what we are going to do first."

Natsu stepped towards Erza, rage coming over him now. "How can you just say that?! They aren't just our friends, they're family! We can't just wait around for a few days and come up with something!"

"It's all we can do right now, Natsu." Erza said calmly.

Natsu shook his head as he stomped his hoof. "You're wrong! We're a lot stronger than we were back then! We can do this Erza! We can win!"

"And what happens if we can't?" Erza watched Natsu step back at her words. Uncertainty entering his mind now. "What happens if this is really all just a trap to get us out of Fairy Tail? Would you risk everyone's lives just to save a few?"

"I would risk my own life if it meant bringing our friends back!" Natsu said with a shaky voice.

"Then you are a fool. Natsu…" The scarlet haired centaur made her way to Natsu, putting her hand lightly on his shoulder. "I know you're angry, and eager to get everyone back… but I don't want to see any more of us get captured, or worse…. So please… I'm asking you to calm down and let us come up with a plan. We need to wait." Erza turned back to the other centaurs. "Everyone, please, get some rest for now. We will meet in the morning to start discussing a plan to rescue our comrades."

The pink haired centaur turned on his hind end, storming past Lucy and Happy without a word to either of them. Lucy frowned, knowing how badly Natsu wanted to just leave and save everyone. '_Typical Natsu… wanting to rush in without thinking…'_ The blonde haired centaur turned and followed in Natsu direction out of the large meeting hall.

Natsu mumbled to himself as he headed back to his tent, his fists tight with anger as his mind raced. "Stupid Erza… she doesn't care… she's just gonna sit back and let everyone rot in that cell for a few more days?!" Black hooves stopped just outside his tent, onyx eyes stared out to the entrance to the woods. "Well I cant. I can't just sit back and let this happen. I don't care what Erza says, I'm going back to save everyone!"

"Count me in too." Came a deep, rough voice from behind the red centaur. Natsu looked back with wide eyes as Gajeel made his way up beside him, a smirk over his face.

"What? No way! I'm going alone! I don't need your help! I can get everyone back on my own!" Natsu said with determination.

"Yeah right! One hit from that annoying lightning general, and you'd be out cold. I can at least withstand his attacks for a short while. Besides…" Large fists clenched together as crimson eyes began to shine with a purpose. "If Lily is still alive like that note says… _I'm_ gonna be the one to save him! Ain't nobody stopping me from this!"

Natsus' eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine… you can come along…"

Gajeel glared at Natsu as he walked past him. "I wasn't askin'. And unlike you, I ain't afraid of what that red headed mare says. We have to do this now."

Natsu made a fist with one of his hands, holding it up at his side. "I'm not entirely afraid of Erza! It was _my_ idea for going out now!"

"Natsu…"

Dark eyes opened wide as he heard Lucy behind him, he turned his whole body to face her. Her expression showed only concern and fear for him, overhearing their conversation. "Lucy…."

Slender centaur legs stepped forward. "Please… tell me you're not going to save everyone now… you shouldn't go… you should wait…"

"I have to do this Lucy."

Brown eyes closed as tears began to form. Lucy shook her head and spoke softly. "No you don't! Why can't you just listen to Erza for once?! Why can't you… listen to me?" Natsu watched as Lucy brought her hands up to her face, hiding her tears that escaped her. "I can't stand the thought of losing you… and I have a bad feeling about this… I just—"

Lucy could feel the warm hand of Natsus' on her head. Her eyes opened slowly as Natsu brought his head down to hers. A soft smile was over his face as he stared back at her. "I promise I'll come back. I'll come back with everyone else too. Besides, I've got Gajeel with me. The two of us can totally kick major ass!"

"Natsu…" The blonde haired centaur wrapped her own arms around his neck, holding him close. "Be careful."

"If you're going back to save everyone, then I'm coming too!" Happy said as he walked up to the two embracing centaurs. Natsu pushed Lucy away gently, his expression softening.

"No way little buddy. I'm not letting you come with us."

"What?! Why?!" Happy said as his face grew angry.

"I already lost you once. I'm not going to let it happen again. I need you to stay here and watch over Lucy for me and the rest of Fairy Tail. Can you do that for me?"

Happy held back his tears. "But… I just got back…"

Natsu smiled as he spoke. "All the more reason why I'll be coming back soon! And I won't be alone! I'll have everyone back here to help celebrate you all being alive."

"Oi! You three gonna just stand there and talk or are we gonna go save our friends?" Gajeel called back impatiently, his hooves stomping at the ground. Natsu smiled once more and waved goodbye to Lucy and Happy, his pace moving into a steady trot to catch up with the black centaur. All Lucy and Happy could do was watch. Watch their friends slip away from Fairy Tail under the cover of darkness, back to the castle to save their friends.

Natsu trotted alongside Gajeel, his eyes glancing over to him. "You think we can get everyone out of there?"

Gajeel grinned confidently. "If you have any doubt, you should probably turn back now."

"Yeah right! I'm gonna bust down those doors and burn the whole place down to the ground for what they did!"

"Heh… I wouldn't mind getting some much needed revenge on a certain general…I'm actually looking forward to this." Gajeels' grin only seemed to increase as the thought of pummeling Laxus entered his mind.

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**AN: thank you for all who read my sad story, sorry that it was so sad, but again, I feel like I should have told you guys why I haven't been writing anything.**

**Also, I have no clue when the next chapter will be up. I have a lot planned for that one so it might take me a bit longer to get done, but we'll see. So again, please, please, pleeeeaaasee be patient with me. I promise and swear that I am not going to abandon this story! I just want to finish the other one I am working on atm. Once that is done, all of my attention will be on this one! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I hope you all are looking forward to whats going to happen next!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: chapter 8**

**OK, first off, very short chapter, I'm sorry, but I wanted to just get something posted for you guys to let you know that I haven't given up on this and that I am still alive. Some good news, I just finished with my other story Beautiful with You so I can focus more on this one now. also, I wanted to let you all know that I am doing better. I really wanted to update sooner and let you all know that, but I was trying very hard to finish my other story. I do still have moments where I break down, and not one day has gone by where I haven't thought about my dog, but I just have to remind myself she is in a better place. Anywhos, nothing too exciting happens in this chapter like I had planned (Like I said, short chapter) but the next one should be pretty crazy and long so I'm not sure when I'll be posting it. my hope is to get it done in a week or two. (I read over this so hopefully I caught all of the mistakes, if not, I am sorry!)**

**piranha pk: Thank you so much, you guys don't know how much your reviews meant to me after posting what had happened to me. And im so sorry for not getting back to you all sooner! And as for the Gajevy interactions, I swear there will be some in the next chapter! **

**Shadow of the Moon555: oh no! I am sorry for making you cry! I didn't intend for that to happen! :( and I just want to say that I know that quote since I have heard it before, and when I saw that you had said that in the review, I lost it but was still thankful that you said it. its amazing what kids think about pets and other animals. And thank you so much for supporting this story! I cant wait to write more because there are going to be so many things happening in the next chapter! And thank you for supporting me through my hard times! You guys are amazing!**

**hope. : lol we will find out in the next chapter what happens to Gajeel and Natsu. Im not going to say if it'll be good or bad thought ;) and we will see if Levy and Lisannas plan works out in the next chapter as well! And thank you so much! I'm hoping to get the next chapter done in a week or two.**

**Guest 1: I know, I miss writing this story, but now I can work on it more that my other story is done :)**

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Gajeel peered through the cover of the over grown bush in front of him some distance away from the castle. He watched the guards patrolling around the grounds, how many there were at one time, how often they moved, and counting the amount of time there was when no one was in the area he was scouting. "It looks like we have only a small window of time to get in there through those doors…" He said as he pointed at the side of the castle where a single wooden door was.

Natsu sighed as he leaned up against a tree nearby. He held up a hand as the other crossed over his chest. His open palm forming small flames as he spoke. "You know I could just go charging in there with this."

The black centaur swung his tail to one side of his body, attempting to get the annoying bugs away from his body as he tried to concentrate on coming up with a proper plan. "As much as I would love nothing more than to charge in there, there's only two of us and you know we aren't supposed to be doing this right now. I'm not risking Lily's life or our own this time. We're just going to have to wait here until I can come up with something."

The red centaur groaned as he stuck out his lip in a pout. "You're no fun. I'm all ready to bust down those doors with my flames and you just wanna sit here and wait."

Gajeel turned to Natsu, anger over his face. "You think I want to sit here and wait while they have Lily in there?! We thought everyone was dead! But now that we know that they are ok, we have to be smart about this. Trust me, my blood is boiling just as hot as yours right now. But I ain't gonna go chargin' in there without a plan. If you want to gallivant down there, flames blazin', be my guest! But don't expect me to come help ya caz I'm only here to get Lily."

Natsu moved in close to Gajeel, his eyes filling with anger. "You mean to tell me you don't care about everyone else?! Those are our friends in there! How can you say that you are just here for Lily?! Do you not care about the others' lives?!"

Gajeel pressed his head against Natsu's, his anger boiling over as well as he spoke. "They aren't my friends! They're yours!"

The red centaur gripped Gajeel's' shirt tightly. "When we left Fairy Tail, you called them your friends! _Our_ friends! What's changed in that short amount of time that you are now so concerned with just Lily?!"

Gajeel growled as he shoved Natsu back. "I just said that so you would quit talkin' to your damn blonde woman and your satyr. I told you before that I would be the one to get Lily back. Ain't no one gonna stop me from getting what I want."

The pink haired centaur growled right back as he threw a right hook to Gajeel's jaw, causing the black centaur to step back a few steps from the impact. "Lucy isn't just some _woman_, and be careful what you say about Happy!"

Gajeel rubbed his jaw as he glared at Natsu. Both of the centaurs were going to be at each other's throats if they didn't get into the castle soon, Gajeel thought. The aggravation of waiting and knowing that everyone was trapped inside was driving both of them crazy. The dark haired centaur went back over to the bushes and looked back towards the castle. Silence came over them both. Minutes later, Gajeel could hear a sigh come from the red centaur behind him, seconds later, he could see the leaves from the bushes become illuminated by the flames Natsu was creating in his hands out of sheer boredom. The black centaur ignored it, trying to keep his focus on the plan he was trying to create.

Natsu watched through narrowed eyes, his flames that he was making in his hands, making them grow larger each time he made them appear. "This is so boring… maybe I should have brought Happy along with me…." Natsu mumbled to himself. The centaur continued to create flames and make them disappear quietly.

The dark haired centaur could feel his eyes twitch as the light from the fire Natsu was creating appeared and disappeared repeatedly, slowly annoying the centaur further. His crimson eyes shut as he spoke through his teeth. "Do you have to do that right now? They could spot us over here no problem with all the signals you are generating."

Natsu's eyes stayed on his flames as he spoke. "What's that? Can't really hear ya when you speak through your teeth…"

Gajeel turned around quickly and stomped his front hooves into the ground as he held up a clenched fist, his voice raised high as he shouted at the red centaur. "DO YOU HAVE TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW?! THEY CAN PROBABLY SPOT YOU OVER HERE NO PROBLEM WITH ALL OF THOSE DAMN FIRE SIGNALS YOU ARE CREATING! IDIOT!"

Natsu waved his hand that was creating the flames away from the front of his body as he turned to face Gajeel, holding up his own fist to the black centaur. His mouth opened wide to shout back when his onyx eyes caught something slinking past them. The two centaurs both turned their heads to see who was attempting to pass them without notice. Both centaurs knew who the man was immediately. It was the one guard that Natsu let go when Gajeel first met Levy. The man was shaking in his boots as he held his weapon in his hands. Gajeel glared at the soldier while Natsu looked at him confusingly.

After a minute of silence between the three of them, the soldier spoke with a shaky voice. "D-d-don't c-come any closer!... I-I-I'll use this on you!"

Natsu pointed at the man and laughed. "Can you hear yourself right now?! You sound so scared!"

Gajeel straightened his back as he clenched his fists tightly. "You got some nerve threatening us. You must have a death wish or something."

The man's scared eyes looked back and forth between Natsu and Gajeel who both started walking towards him. "Please… stay back… I-I d-don't—"

Gajeel brought his hands together and cracked his knuckles. "Beggin' ain't gonna stop us from killing you."

The man dropped his sword as he backed up slowly. He put up a shaky hand in front of his body. "P-please… I… I wasn't ordered to hunt you! Either of you! I was just out on patrol and when I saw you both arguing, I just… I don't want any trouble!"

Natsu grinned as he held up both of his hands, fire forming from both. "Hehehe… but we like trouble… it's more fun when you guys fight back."

The soldier tripped as he was walking backwards, fear completely taking him over as he watched the centaurs were practically on him now, their eyes full of bloodlust. The man shut his eyes tightly as he held up his hands. "Please! Don't kill me! I have a family!"

Natsu stopped immediately, his flames dissipated from his hands. "You… have a family?"

The man kept his eyes closed as he replied. "Yes! So please, let me go! I won't tell anyone about you both! I just want to live! Please, I'll do anything!"

Gajeel smirked a toothy grin as he stopped just before the man. "You think that's gonna stop me from killin' ya? For all I know, you could be lying to us right now. You soldiers will do and say anything to escape death." The black centaur raised his arm, turning it into an iron spear as he stared down the scared man before him. His eyes widened as he felt Natsu's hand holding him back suddenly. Gajeel whipped his head around to the pink haired centaur. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Natsu stared at Gajeel with serious onyx eyes. "You can't kill him Gajeel."

Gajeel scoffed as he turned back to the man. "Like hell I can't! Just watch me!"

Natsu crossed his brows as he jerked back Gajeel's arm, causing him to step back and once more, snap his head to the red centaur. "I said you can't. He has a family. Just like us, he just wanted to live another day to see them."

Crimson eyes narrowed. "How can you believe anything that spews from his mouth?! He's just saying this to get out of dying!"

"I know a man wouldn't lie about having a family and look that scared to die." Natsu kept his grip on Gajeel's arm. "If you kill him, you're no better than the soldiers that are in the castle. No better than that general who just orders his men to kill us on sight. For no reason, he wants us dead. What has this man done to us? He didn't do anything but stand and shake uncontrollably when we first met him. Hell you even wounded him making him incapable of escaping."

"Yeah and when I told you to watch him, you let 'em go. He doesn't have that bookworm to save him this time. I'm doing what I should have done last time. I'm killin' him!" Gajeel said as he jerked his iron arm away from Natsu, raising it before the soldier. The man below him raised his arms above his head, his eyes shutting tight as tears streamed down his face. Gajeel thrust his arm downward at the man.

"I'm sorry, Clarrisa. Please forgive me." The man said just before the centaurs arm reached him.

Crimson eyes widened as he stopped his attack inches away from the man's arms. Gajeel stared at the soldier as he kept his arms up above his head, repeating the words he had just spoken. The large centaur let out a sigh as he changed his iron arm back to normal. He turned on his hind end and stomped away from the soldier, cursing under his breath. The frightened man opened his eyes slowly and dropped his arms down at his sides.

Natsu let out a hearty laugh as he leaned down and patted the man's shoulder. "This is a story you're going to remember forever! The great Black Steel let you live!"

"But… why?" The man said slowly, clearly confused but relieved that he was still alive to speak.

Natsu straightened up and put his hands on his hips. "Hey I wouldn't question it pal. Just be glad I was here to help you out!"

The man looked to Natsu. "But… you didn't really do much of anything…"

Natsu quickly held up a clenched fist, his expression turning to anger. "WHAT?! I totally helped you out! You would be dead right now if it wasn't for me!"

Gajeel stood silently as the two behind him bickered back and forth. He was staring back at the castle, his mind desperately trying to come up with something, and now thinking of what to do about the man he once again, didn't kill. Crimson orbs watched the new batch of guards begin their post at the castle door they were planning on sneaking into. He stared hard at them for a long minute before he looked back at the soldier talking with Natsu so casually. "Oi!"

Both centaur and soldier looked up to Gajeel who was making his way to them. The black centaur stopped in front of the man and leaned down to pick him up by his shirt. The man once again looked terrified and feared the centaur had changed his mind about not killing him. "A-are you going to k-kill me?!"

Gajeel glared at the man. "No… I ain't gonna kill ya. But you _are_ going to help us get inside."

"How's he gonna do that?!" Natsu asked loudly.

Crimson orbs stayed on the man. "He's going to distract those guards at the door and let us get in without warning the others… am I right? I mean… it would be a total shame if you were to live and your family fall victim to another centaur attack… wouldn't it?"

The man swallowed the large lump in his throat. He nodded his head quickly. "Yes. I will help you get in I swear! I won't breath a word to anyone either! Just please… let my family be!"

Gajeel tossed the man back to the ground like a sack of potatoes, scoffing as he rolled his eyes. "Enough with the begging… it's so annoying."

The red centaur punched his open fist as he grinned. "Alright! So how are we doing this?! He distracts the guards and we rush in there behind him? I'll make sure my flames are super powerful to break that door down!"

Gajeel tilted his head back towards Natsu, his eyes narrowed as he responded to the centaur. "Seriously? Are there any brain cells left in that head of yours? You can't just rush in there and break down the door. They'll know we're there in seconds." Gajeel looked back to the soldier. "Oi… is the door open or locked constantly?"

The man jumped slightly. "Uh… which… which door are you referring to?"

Gajeel growled as he picked the man up and dragged I'm over to the bushes he was looking out from. He pointed to the door he had been staring at all night. "That one." The man opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. The black haired centaur shook him slightly. "Well?!"

The man nodded his head. "Yes! Yes it's open! At all times! It's the one Levy and Mystogan use to go out from the castle when they are working on their experiments! Since only generals and high ranking soldiers are given keys, they said that they would keep that door unlocked at all times for them and just have men posted there keeping watch!"

Gajeel grinned at this new information. "That explains why I haven't seen anyone come out of there this whole time. Heh… this is perfect." The centaur raised a studded brow at the man as he grinned. "Who knew you would be so resourceful. Good thing flame brain over there was here with me… you better thank him for savin' your life. Because I would have killed ya. I wouldn't have given it a second thought even if you aren't lying about having a family." Gajeel turned to Natsu as he released the small man. "You ready for this?"

Natsu held up both of his fists clenched tightly. "I was born ready! Let's do this!"

Gajeel glared at Natsu as he spoke. "Remember not to run off on your own. You have to stick nearby. We don't know the way around the castle. But we can sniff everyone out once we get in there."

The pink haired centaur rolled his eyes. "Geez! You think I always run away or disappear on ya… its getting a little old being told to stay nearby."

Gajeel growled angrily. "Because that's what you do!"

The man held up a hand to interrupt the two centaurs arguing. "Um… excuse me… but… if you guys are planning on getting in there, we better go soon. This is the last two man shift for this side of the castle. Once those two leave, it'll be four or five guards circling around that area. So…" The man hesitated finishing his sentence as the two centaurs stared at him in silence. "Um… we should… get going…?"

"Yeah… alright. Let's go." Gajeel said coolly. The centaur pointed to a trail hidden by the trees and greenery. "Natsu and I will take this path. It'll get us close enough to the door that we'll be out of sight if you can get the attention of the other guards."

"We're gonna get everyone back to Fairy Tail tonight." Natsu said confidently as he started down the path Gajeel mentioned.

The dark haired centaur looked at the soldier, his crimson eyes threatening him as he spoke. "We are going to let you live so long as you hold up your end of this deal. And so help me if you let anyone know about us being here…"

"I won't tell a soul! I will help you! Thank you for sparing my life!" The man said as he scrambled away.

Gajeel rolled his eyes, scoffing at the man thanking him. "Humans are so pathetic…" His crimson eyes looked back to the castle as he clenched his fists tightly. "Don't worry Lily… I'm going to get ya. Now that I know you're alive… I will get you back." The black centaur pushed off the ground with his hooves, cantering down the path to catch up with Natsu and to wait for a good opening to get inside the door to the castle.

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**AN: I hope you all still enjoyed this short chapter, the next one will make up for it I promise!**

**Also I wanted to thank all of those of you who had read my sad story. you guys don't know how much I appreciate you all. Readers, reviewers, all of you. I means so much to me that you all supported me, read my story, reviewed, and have waited very patiently for my stories return. I say this in all of my chapters, but you all are truly amazing. You all drive writers to bust out chapters and help me get motivated to get it done faster. Im going to try not to rush this story so the next chapter is probably going to take time to write. Intense things are going to happen and no all of them are going to be pretty. I also want to warn everyone that this story will get a little "dark" in some chapters. But! That's also why its rated M. lol for later chapters. Anywhos! Please please please review, like I said, I know nothing really exciting happens, but I love seeing all of your comments and thoughts! Glad to be back to writing and I cant wait to get the next chapter done. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: chapter**** 9**

**Ok so… I may have lied. I decided to split up this chapter into 2 because I didn't want it to be suuuuper long. So the next one should be pretty crazy with things. But I hope you all still enjoy this one! It's longer than the last chapter, as promised, annnnd yeah. Lol things. I'm keeping this AN short so I can get to the responses and so you all can read this chapter. I've read over this chapter but I might have missed something because I have been staring at my computer literally most of the day, so if I miss anything, I am sorry.**

**Shout out!**

**Any of you GAJEVY fans out there reading this, please go check out ****Monster**** by MsKtk! Description: This night was supposed to be about the girls, because they were all sick of the men in their lives. Levy thought she was going to forget about her troubles, but the only way to do that is by getting herself into a different kind of a trouble. She is in the sights of a monster, should she be terrified, aggressive,... or excited? Please go check out her other works as well! They do not disappoint! And make sure to give her some love and reviews!**

**kurahieiritr JIO: Thank you so much for that review! I'm so glad you are enjoying it/have found it! I hope the rest of the story will fascinate you further :) or at least keep your interest.**

**sassykitten1701: lol Lisanna is in fact a centaur, as for Mystogan, I will let you read this chapter and find out :) I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the others**

**Takiarika: AH! You started reading this story tooo! *gets super excited* haha yes! I wanted to make sure it has all the things. And don't worry, the gajevy interactions will change throughout the story ;) and I cooould be doing this intentionally, I'm not going to say yes or no right now lol and don't worry, I am making sure I am getting rest (trying to at least lol I don't sleep well as it is and then work makes me have no energy to work on the stories so I get to write on my days off! :) and thank you! I might write one more chapter for this story and then get a bonus chapter for beautiful with you. (I'm fairly fair into the first bonus chapter so it shouldn't take me that long to finish writing it!)**

**piranha pk: *flails arms in excitement* yaaaaay! I'm baaack! * ubber tight hug* it feels good to be back. :) and yay! That's so exciting to hear! And I'll try not to kill off anyone too important in the future! ;)**

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The two centaurs watched as the guard they spared walked up to the other soldiers standing nearby the door. They watched as he spoke with them for a few minutes. Gajeel could feel his heart stop as the man pointed to the woods he had just come from. '_Damn him! He's tellin' them where we were! They'll be on us in no time! We can't do this now… if we do… I don't know what the outcome is going to be.'_ Gajeel turned his head to Natsu. "Hey, let's get out of here. We'll come back when there are more of us. That pathetic human turned on us for his own—"

Natsu cut Gajeel off as he pointed in the direction the man was along with the other guards. The black centaur turned his head back around, his crimson eyes widening. To his surprise, the two guards on duty were leaving their post and heading back inside the castle. The man they spared waited until they were out of sight before turning around and motioning to the centaurs to hurry to the door. Both Gajeel and Natsu pushed off the ground on their hind ends, speeding to the now clear doorway into the stone walls holding their friends. They stopped before the man, Natsu looking around to make sure the coast was actually clear. Gajeel's eyes narrowed as he spoke. "What did you tell them?"

The man swallowed the small lump in his throat. "I-I told them that I had just returned from my patrol in the woods and that I was to relieve them of their posts until the next switch."

The dark haired centaur raised a brow. "And they believed you?"

The guard rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I guess so… I mean… these new recruits aren't the smartest bunch. They are honestly just grabbing anyone they can find off the streets to build up an army."

"For what? What are they planning?" Gajeel said quickly.

Before the man could speak, Natsu pulled on the black centaurs arm. "Come on! We gotta get in there now or else we'll miss our chance!" Gajeel cursed the pink haired centaur under his breath for pulling him away before he could get an answer.

'_I'll just find him again… they must be getting some new recruits_ _because I've had my fun killin' the rest of em off.'_ Gajeel thought to himself as he jerked his arm back form Natsu's grip, following him inside quickly.

As soon as they stepped foot on the cold stone floors, crimson orbs glanced down at his hooves that clip clopped as they made their way down the long hallway quickly. "Damn it… we gotta be slow through this damn castle… otherwise they are gonna find us way too quickly."

Natsu looked down at his own hooves, his expression looking amused. "I kind of like the sound its making!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes and spoke with a hushed voice. "Just walk slow you idiot! I am not gonna let this opportunity slip through our hands because you find the sound we're makin' amusing!"

The pink haired centaur narrowed his eyes as he stuck out his bottom lip. "Ok fine…" He mumbled under his breath at Gajeel. "Really should have brought Happy along…"

The dark haired centaur sniffed the air around him, trying to pick up any form of scent he knew. Natsu followed behind Gajeel, his nose hard at work as well. Nothing. All they could smell was the disgusting scent of the cold stone walls around them, mixed in with the smell of dogs and the guards. "Come on… we have to go deeper inside. Remember to be quiet."

The centaurs eventually stumbled upon another hallway leading in a different direction. They looked to each other to decide which way to go. Gajeel pointed straight in the direction they were already walking in, not wanting to go too far off what could be the right path.

"Are you sure that's going to be the right way? Because I don't think a straight line is going to get us to the bottom of this place." Natsu said in annoyance as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Gajeel stopped a few steps ahead, letting out a soft sigh. "I know that. But what other choice do we have?! I ain't picking up anything around here… besides the foul stench of the guards and hell hounds they have… smells like they haven't bathed in days around here…"

"Yeah but—" Natsu started to say but was quickly cut off by the larger centaur.

"Just shut up and follow me. I know what I'm doing."

Natsu glared at the back of a dark mane as Gajeel started walking down the hall once more. The red centaur opened his mouth and silently mocked what Gajeel had just said, rolling his eyes as he let out a sigh right after. Onyx eyes glanced back down the other hallway, thinking to himself for a moment. "Hmm…" Natsu stepped closer to the hallway Gajeel said to ignore. He breathed in deeply through his nose, trying to sniff out anything familiar. His eyes widened a moment later as a faint, but very familiar smell filled his nose. He glanced back in the direction Gajeel was walking down. The black centaur hadn't even noticed that he wasn't following. Natsu grinned as he looked back to the hallway he had stepped into. "Screw him! I'm gonna go down this way! I know that's her scent! I'm sure of it! Lisanna is down there!" The pink haired centaur rushed down the lit corridor, not caring about making sure he was staying quiet. He wanted to get to Lisanna as quick as possible, not tip toe around this large place and hope for the best. He was going to find her, that much, he was certain.

* * *

Gajeel stopped suddenly at another corner of the corridor, holding up his hand to stop the centaur behind him. "Hear that?" The centaur paused for a moment. "Sounds like the guards are making their switch now… and it sounds like they are coming this way. Damn it." He said through gritted teeth. "Alright, lets head back Nat—" Gajeel had turned his head midsentence, his jaw dropping slightly as he didn't see anyone behind him. He clenched his fists as his head whipped back around to the light from the soldier's torches getting closer from the hallway next to him.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Said one man as they came closer to the three way split.

"Is there a loose horse running around the castle?" Another man said.

"That's impossible! All of the horses are in the stables. How could there be a loose horse in here?!" The third man chimed in.

The fourth man could be heard from a distance. "Hey! You three! Go find some more guards! Someone reported a centaur in the castle! And check every room you pass up! He could be hiding anywhere! And let everyone know they are to lock their doors and not come out under any circumstance!"

The first man piped up, Gajeel could hear the fear in his shaky voice. "W-what?! A centaur?! In the castle!? But how?!"

The angry man just shouted back at the three in the hallway nearby. "Just shut up and look for him! It is imperative that we find him! The ones being held captive have those bracelets on them so it has to be one from the outside!"

'_Damn it! Do they know I'm here or is it just Natsu?!_' The centaur turned quickly and raced back down the corridor he came from. '_Either way… they're gonna know I'm here soon enough if I can't find a place to hide_! _I know I saw a door down here somewhere! Damn it all, Natsu! If you had just followed me and stayed quiet, the guards wouldn't be lookin' for us right now!'_

The black centaur could hear the soldier's steps getting louder as they split up down the corridor he was running down. His crimson orbs were searching frantically for the single door he saw along the way. Slight relief came over the centaur a minute later when the door he had passed up finally came into his view. Gajeel quickly made his way to it, swinging it open quickly and shutting it behind him just as he got his body inside. He let out a breath of air as he rested his head against the wood. '_Fuck…'_ Crimson orbs glanced down at the latch from the inside of the room. His large hand came up and pushed the latch sideways, securing the wooden door so it could not be opened from the outside. '_Hopefully they didn't see me come down this way, or in here for that matter!'_

A sweet scent fill the centaurs' nose. His eyes widened as he took in a deep breath. He knew that sweet smell. His head turned slowly, looking around the room he had entered blindly. It was a fairly decently sized, with a single bed and multiple bookshelves full of books. The armoire that was nearby the bed was opened wide, full of different outfits hung up neatly. Crimson orbs scanned the rest of the room, noticing a round table with a small tray of what appeared to be left over from the meal she had.

Gajeel's eyes looked back to the bed, eyeing a sleeping figure, curled up under the thick blanket, trying desperately to stay warm in the damp and cold walls of the castle. He hesitated any movements, not entirely sure if he wanted to even go over to her. '_Of all rooms for me to hide in…_' Gajeel looked back to the door, he could hear the guards getting closer, some shouting at each other to check the door he had gone into. '_Damn it…'_

The dark haired centaur quickly went over to the bed, his mind made up. Once he reached the edge of the bed, the centaur leaned in at the waist, his hand quickly moving to Levy's mouth. He made sure to cover it just enough to muffle out any noise she was about to make as he shook her. "Hey… hey Shrimp! Wake up!"

Hazel eyes opened slowly. The girl didn't seem to know what was going on, but as soon as she felt a hand over her mouth, her hazel eyes widened quickly as she swung her arms up into the air at the figure leaning above her. The centaur dodged a hit to the face as his free hand quickly pinned down one wrist. Levy shut her eyes as she screamed into the hand over her mouth, still struggling to break free.

Gajeel growled as he spoke. "Will you knock it off and open your damn eyes?! It's me!"

Levy let the familiar voice sink in as she slowly stopped struggling to escape. Her eyes went wide once more as she turned her head to look at the centaur in disbelief. She opened her mouth and spoke his name into his hand.

Gajeel leaned in closer to Levy's face, his crimson orbs narrowing. "Listen to me, I need you to get up. There are guards looking for a centaur in the castle. I think they are looking for that dumbass that I brought along, but if they come in here, I'm going to need you to convince them I never came in here, and that you are alone. Understand? I'm going to move my hand away now, so don't scream… or else I will kill you without a second thought."

Just as the centaur moved his hand away, Levy once again, opened her mouth to speak. "What are you doing here?! In the castle?! How did you get in?!"

Gajeel's grip tightened on her wrist. "I don't have time to explain myself to you right now!" Both heads turned towards the door as a knock could be heard. The black centaur snapped his head back to Levy. "Go to the door and if they ask if you have seen any centaur, deny it! If they want to come in here and look, don't let them!"

"I can't just deny the guards access to my room!" Levy said quietly.

"You have to! Listen to me, if they find out that I'm in here, we're both going to be killed! Don't let them in!" The large creature pulled Levy out of the bed by her wrist, shoving her towards the door. He quickly looked around to see if there was another room he could hide in just in case.

The blue haired girl scrambled to catch her footing after the shove from the centaur, cursing him under her breath as she placed her hand on the door. The girl took in a deep breath before unlatching the door, cracking it open slightly. The guards just outside her room looked down at the short girl, eyeing her in her night gown. "Sorry for the late disturbance, but we have orders to make sure an intruder has not made his way inside here. We are going to need to come in and look around."

Levy held up a hand calmly. "I've been up reading my books and I can assure you, no one has been in and out of this room, besides myself. So there isn't any need to come in."

"I'm… sorry, Levy… but we have our orders. We need to come in." The soldier spoke seriously. The two men pushed the door open, walking past the blue haired girl who protested. Levy could feel her heart pound as she turned around, worried that she was going to see the guards on Gajeel in an instant. To her surprise, he wasn't anywhere to be found. She narrowed her eyes as she scanned her room.

'_Where the hell did he go?! It's not like he's small enough to disappear behind something… the only thing that I could think of is…_' Hazel eyes looked to the bathroom. That was the only other room connected to hers that could hide someone. Levy looked to the soldiers as they looked around her room. _'I can only hope they don't go in there…'_

Levy slowly made her way to the open doorway leading to the bath, keeping her eyes on the two as they looked around for any evidence of an intruder. She leaned up against the cool stone leading into the room, crossing her arms over her chest. "So… as you can see, no one has been in here but me. So can you both just leave and let me go to bed?"

The guard who had not spoken at all yet, walked over to Levy, his expression apathetic as he spoke. "We need to look in that room as well."

Levy chuckled nervously. "Do you really? I mean, come on, do you really think an intruder is taking a bath in _my_ room?"

The soldier looked to Levy coldly. He didn't seem to care what she had to say as he reached out and grabbed her roughly.

"H-hey! Let me go!" Levy said loudly.

"You need to move out of my way, girl." The soldier replied as he began to pull her way from the doorway.

Levy could feel someone come up beside her, pushing her off from the wall slightly towards the middle of the entrance way. She could feel a large hand wrap around her shoulder and pull her in close to someone's side. Hazel eyes watched as another large hand came from the other side of the body beside her and took hold of the guards' arm that held onto Levy. The smaller girl looked up to Gajeel who had a toothy grin over his face. He had pulled his hair back into a ponytail and wrapped a long piece of cloth over his forehead, hiding his pierced eyebrows. He had removed his sleeveless shirt and wrapped a towel around his waist, hiding his black fur underneath. He still hid behind the stone wall as he held Levy close, making sure to stay where he was so the guards wouldn't notice the rest of his body. Hazel eyes glanced down and noticed that the towel just reached the bottom of the floor, hiding every inch of the centaurs' front.

"And you need to let go of my woman." He said with a grin. He tightened his grip over the man's forearm. "Unless you would like to lose control of your arm. I don't appreciate others laying a hand over what is mine."

Levy's cheeks blushed madly as she looked at Gajeel as he spoke. "G-Gajeel?!"

Crimson orbs looked down at the girl, his smirk still over his face. "Hey Shrimp… sorry for keeping you waiting… I wanted to make sure I was all cleaned up before we spent some alone time together…" Gajeel glanced back at the guards in front of them both, his smirk fading. "What's with you two being in here?"

The soldier who had first told Levy they needed to search her room finally spoke. "We were ordered to search the room for possible a possible intruder." He looked to Levy now as he spoke. "I'm very sorry for in the inconvenience. Come on, let's go." The guard turned and headed for the door, leaving the other man staring down Gajeel with dark eyes burning through him. The first soldier turned as he reached the door. "Come on. Let's leave these two alone."

The second man scowled as he released Levy's arm quickly, turned on his heels and walked to the door as well. The first man looked back to Levy. "Please be sure to lock your door and don't come out of this room for any reason. You and him."

Levy looked to the guard and nodded her head quickly. "Uh, yes! Of course." The girl waited for the door to close completely before letting out a breath. "Geez that was close…"

Gajeel released his grip on Levy's shoulder and removed the towel from around his waist. "You're tellin' me. I almost didn't get this damn thing tied in time." He held up not one, but two towels tied together that hid the front of his centaur form. "You've got pretty small towels, Shrimp. We were almost caught."

Levy held up an accusing finger as she looked up at Gajeel. "You! You almost got caught!"

"Yeah well if they caught me, then you would be in trouble for hiding an intruder. Could have been sentenced to death caz I'm a centaur and all."

Levy shrugged her shoulders as she lifted her hands up into the air, letting them fall down to her sides quickly. "Why the hell did you even come in here?! Why are you in the castle? And how did you get in?!"

Gajeel groaned as he rolled his eyes, turning around and walking away from Levy. "Man, why you gotta ask so many questions?"

"Will you just answer me?!" Levy said angrily.

She watched the black centaur stop by the side of the bath, pulling the scrap of cloth from his forehead and letting it fall from his hands. He reached over and took his shirt from the chair nearby, slipping it back over his torso. "Like I said, I came in here trying to hide from the soldiers because Natsu is a flippin' idiot and couldn't keep his damn self quiet. And we're in here to save some of our… fellow centaurs who are still alive… I got in from the side door thanks to a soldier that I spared. Any other questions, Shorty?"

Levy could feel her cheeks turning red once more. "Yeah! Why did you tell them that I was your…woman?"

The centaur raised a brow. "Do I really need to answer that question?"

Levy clenched her fists tightly at her sides. "Yes! You could have just hidden in the water or—"

"Or what, Shrimp?" Gajeel said as he started walking back towards her. "Hide this horse body behind the curtains? Hide in your armoire? Did you forget that this centaur body isn't anything small? It was hard enough keeping myself hidden behind the wall and get that damn towel wrapped around and luckily it was long enough to hide my hooves." The centaur kept walking forward as he reached Levy, making her walk backwards until she reached the other side of the doorway. He leaned in close and put a hand up above her head. "So let me ask you this… do you think me saying I was trying to hide in here was better than letting them think you were spending a night with a dashing and very handsome man? Besides, if they knew that you and I were going to be… intimate together…" Gajeel grinned as he brought a hand up to Levy's chin, angling her head up slightly so her hazel eyes could lock on with his. "They would be more willing to leave us alone…"

Levy couldn't stop her blush over her cheeks from growing redder. Her eyebrows crossed as she responded. "Why do you do that?!"

Gajeel raised a studded brow. "Do what?"

Levy pushed away the hand from her chin, quickly poking Gajeel in the chest. "Threaten to kill me one minute if I don't agree to help you, but then turn around and act like you want… me…"

Gajeel's unique laugh escaped his lips. "Caz it's fun." A large hand came back to Levy's chin, slowly moving back over her jaw to her blue hair. "I enjoy seeing you get flustered and embarrassed by what I say." The centaur ran his fingers through blue hair slowly, watching each strand as it left his fingers. He chuckled softly. "You're just too easy."

Levy smacked away the hand that ran through her hair. "Will you stop that?! You drive me crazy with all of this!"

Gajeel quickly moved in closer to the girl, trapping her further against the wall as his hand moved down to her thigh, gripping it lightly. He could hear her small gasp at the sudden movement he made on her. He watched her chest begin to rise and fall quickly as his hand stayed put on her thigh, her cheeks burned red as she stared at him with worry. She had no idea what he was doing and was frozen in fear, knowing full well what he was capable of. "I could drive you crazy in a whole different way, Shrimp." His hand slowly began to rise up her side inch by inch as he leaned in close to her ear to whisper. "All you have to do…" Gajeel's hand was just below her chest at her side. "Is say the word…"

Levy shut her eyes tightly, biting down on her lip as she waited for his touch to move up further. This didn't feel right. Yes, she could feel her body reacting to his touch and her cheeks wouldn't stop burning red, but this… this wasn't what she wanted. She barely knew this man, no, this _centaur_! How would anything like this be even possible for them both if she was even interested in him?! Instinctively, Levy's hand came up to the centaurs' wrist, gripping it as tight as she could as her mouth opened to speak. "Stop it…. This isn't… this isn't right! And you know it!"

Gajeel grinned as he dropped his hand to his side, standing back up straight as he chuckled again. "Well there's your back bone. Bout time."

Levy stared at the centaur in disbelief as he walked past her, pulling out the tie holding his black mane back. '_Is he seriously just playing with me?! God he's so annoying…'_ Levy thought to herself. She let out a huff as she crossed her arms over her chest, heading back to her bed. "Well I hope you have a way out because you're not staying here tonight."

Gajeel raised a studded brow. "Didn't ya hear the man that came in here? Neither of us are allowed to leave. So I'm stuck here until morning."

The blue haired girl got into bed and threw the blanket over her small form. "That's not my problem. _I_ want you to leave."

Gajeel snickered as he made his way beside the bed Levy was in. "Doesn't matter what you want. I ain't leavin'. You're going to have to deal with me sleeping here tonight. I'll leave first thing in the morning, but not before I find that idiot and the rest of the centaurs."

Levy put her hands in between her legs as she threw her head up, closing her eyes as she spoke. "I'll have you know, I have a plan to get everyone out of here. So you don't need to look around this place for anyone."

Gajeel raised a studded brow towards Levy. "Did you fail to hear me the first time? Natsu is running around this place like a damn fool. If I don't find him, there's going to be trouble."

"I just don't think there's any point in you staying here even for Natsu, we can find him a lot easier than you probably could. Hell you'd probably make things worse so you just—" Levy opened her hazel eyes and looked to the centaur who laid down beside the bed, his arms crossing over his chest. For his large size, he made it seem effortless to lay down on the ground. The girl watched him close his eyes and lower his head slightly, silence coming over him. "You're just going to sleep like that?"

Without opening his eyes or raising his head, the centaur responded. "What other choice do I have? I can't leave the room right now. And it ain't like you got a big enough bed to fit me and you on it." A crimson orb opened slightly as a smirk appeared over his lips. "Unless you _do_ want me to join you in that bed…"

Levy scoffed and rolled her eyes as she laid back against her mattress, turning over onto her side quickly so that her back was facing the centaur. She waited a few minutes before speaking to him again. "Just be sure to leave me alone while I sleep and be gone by the time I wake up in the morning." The girl waited for a response, but got silence in return. Levy's expression grew angry as Gajeel failed to respond to her. "Are you even listening to me?!" The small girl rolled over to look at the centaur she was addressing. Her expression softened slightly as she watched him. He looked like he had fallen right to sleep. '_Geez…'_ She watched as his head bobbed slightly, as if he had been deprived of sleep for days. '_When was the last time you slept?'_ She noticed that he had not changed his clothing since he had taken her back to the castle, hell, since the first time they had met. Hazel eyes scanned over his arms and legs that still had fairly fresh markings of the all the fights he had gotten in recently.

'_You haven't even let yourself heal fully, have you?_' Levy let out a breath as she watched him sleep. _'He passed out so quickly… wonder if he's even really sleeping_…' The blue haired girl slipped out from under her covers and took a few steps towards Gajeel. She waved a hand in front of his face, wondering if he would react. Levy opened her mouth and spoke softly after seeing no reaction. "_Gajeel_…." Silence. The girl half smiled as she shook her head. '_That's what you get for pushing yourself and not letting yourself rest.'_ Levy left the centaurs' side and went straight to her armoire, pulling out one of the bottom drawers and pulling out another blanket she had kept. The girl made her way back over to the centaur and wrapped it around his torso, pulling it close around the front of his body, making sure he was going to be warm enough while laying down on the cold floor.

She smiled slightly as she continued to watch him nod his head in slumber. '_If only you were this peaceful while you were awake…'_ Levy shook her head and made her way back to her bed, climbing under the covers and letting out a soft sigh. Hazel eyes began to close as she thought to herself. _'So long as nothing goes wrong… we should be able to get everyone out of here in two days' time. That's when the party will be going on. All I have to do is get the guards to go to different parts of the castle to make one clear path for everyone to get out of here. Lisanna is taking care of the rest, so all I can do is pray that nothing interferes with our plan._' The girl turned over on her side to look at Gajeel once more just before sleep took her. '_Especially with these two here… please let everything go ok.'_

Minutes had passed by in the quiet room before crimson orbs opened slowly. Gajeel had waited until he was sure Levy was sleeping before looking her way. Fast asleep. '_Good. Pretending to fall asleep is annoying… but I really didn't feel like hearing her nag at me some more. I gotta get out of here though. As much as I would love to stay here and sleep, I gotta get goin'._' He thought as he extended his front legs out in front of his body. Slowly and carefully, the centaur pushed himself up with his powerful centaur legs, careful not to make a sound that could wake the sleeping girl on the bed. His eyes went to the blanket she had wrapped around his shoulders. A studded brow raised as he pulled it off from his torso, holding it out in front of him before glancing back towards Levy.

'_Stupid girl doesn't know that I don't need a blanket to keep me warm. I was practically boiling under this thing!'_ The black centaur turned and set it near the armoire where he could hear her pull it out from. A smirk came over his lips as he thought back through his memories of a certain human who would constantly try to do this to him. He pictured Alena bringing him a blanket anytime he would stay with Arthur if the time was too late for him to go back to Fairy Tail. No matter how many times he would growl at her and tell her that he didn't need a blanket, the blue haired woman would just laugh and dismiss him, wrapping the blanket around his torso just as Levy did.

Crimson eyes looked back to the girl on the bed who had passed out completely. He wasn't surprised considering the hour she was disturbed at. Gajeel moved his eyes to the door of Levy's room, determination coming over his face. '_I gotta get flame brains out of here. We gotta find Lily and the rest and get the hell out of here. I can't count on a human to help us out. With no magic or weapons, what good is she?' _The centaur made his way to the door, his hand unlatching the door silently. He stuck his head out and looked around. '_It's clear… I'm surprised... but then again, they are looking for Natsu.'_ The black centaur opened the door the rest of the way and stepped out into the hall, closing the door once his large form was out.

* * *

Natsu's expression lit up as he raced down the hallway, his onyx eyes falling on the white haired girl up ahead. Without thinking, he shouted her name in excitement. "Lisanna! Lisanna! Hey!"

The girl turned her head to see the red centaur barreling down towards her. Her eyes grew wide as fear entered her mind. "Natsu?!"

The centaur came to a sudden halt right in front of Lisanna, his arms stretched out to grab her. He had picked her up and hugged her tight. "I knew I would find you! That stupid Gajeel shouldn't ever doubt my sense of smell!"

Lisanna pushed against the crushing hug Natsu was giving her. "Wait, Gajeel is here too?! Are you two crazy?!"

The pink haired centaur set the girl down and rubbed the back of his head. "Well when Happy came back and told us everything, there was no way I could just sit back and wait for you guys to come to Fairy Tail. So I decided to come get ya! Gajeel tagged along…" He said with some annoyance at the end. His eyes went wide as he gripped Lisannas shoulders. "So let's go get the rest of our friends and get the hell out of this place!"

Lisanna shook her head as she gripped Natsu's arms. "You have to leave, Natsu! Right now! I have a plan to get everyone out of here in two days, so please, go now before they find you! I was just heading to my room myself. I heard the guards mention there was a centaur in here. If they find you, I don't know what will happen!"

Natsu crossed his eyebrows as he spoke. "But I'm here now! I could get everyone out of here tonight! And if those guards try to come at me, I'll take them all on! By the way… why are you a human?"

The white haired girl shoved Natsu away slightly. "Please, I'll tell you later, right now you have to leave!"

"I can't just leave you and the rest of our friends!" Natsu said angrily.

A voice came up from behind Natsu and Lisanna. It sounded calm and emotionless as he spoke. "I'm afraid that task is going to be impossible for you to complete."

Both Natsu and Lisanna turned to look at the man who had appeared behind them. The man was of average height with a slim body and waist-length hair with bangs covering one side of his face as well as a pair of thin strands jutting out backwards from the side of his head in the shape of lightning bolts. His uncovered eye was closed as he stood sideways with his hand on the hilt of his sword at his side. Lisanna knew who he was for she had seen him around the general multiple times. Natsu on the other hand, raised a brow as he spoke to the man. "Who the hell are you? And what's with your hair?"

The man opened his greenish blue eye slowly, starring right at Natsu. The centaur looked over the man further. He was wearing a knee-length, double-breasted coat with loose and light-colored pants tucked inside a pair of boots. His outfit made him resemble some sort of nobleman. "My name is not of any importance to you, _filthy creature_."

Natsu held up a clenched fist as he shouted back at the green haired man. "Hey! Don't go calling people filthy! I'll have you know I bathed yesterday!"

"Any centaur I come across is a filthy being unworthy of breathing the same air as we do." The man responded coolly.

Natsu could feel his blood boiling, his clenched fist creating flames quickly. "What did you just say?!"

"I suggest you just give up now, centaur, this is a battle you cannot win."

Lisanna held up her hands as she walked in front of Natsu before he could say anything else. "Please, Freed, spare him. He hasn't done anything to us."

Freed glanced to Lisanna, disgust coming over him. "You dare side with this— oh wait… I forgot that you are one of them. The general and princess won't be too pleased to hear that you have tried to aid this creature in escaping. You know the penalty for helping them, don't you?"

The white haired girl stepped back as she brought her hands to her chest. She was shaking in fear because she knew almost everything about Freed. His magic, his personality, and his feelings towards centaurs. Natsu took a step forward in front of the girl, both of his hands forming flames now. "Get behind me Lisanna. I'm not gonna let this guy hurt you."

Freed tilted his head slightly, his other eye coming into view as his bangs moved out of the way. As he looked at the centaur and girl before him, his other eye had changed colors completely. It was fully black with a purple circle where his greenish blue iris should be, his pupil nonexistent in that eye. "Insolent fool. You cannot win against me. I will be sure to take you both to the general and princess myself."

The red centaur charged forward towards Freed, his fists full of flames. "Get out of her Lisanna! I'll take care of this guy!"

Lisanna hesitated for a moment before turning around and started to run from the two. She didn't get too far when she suddenly hit an invisible wall. Her eyes widened as she placed her hands up in front of her. "What?! No!" Dark purple runes had appeared around her and travelled upwards in the square the girl was trapped in. It had been one of Freed's spells he put down in this spot. The girl turned back around and pounded her fists on the clear wall. "Natsu! Get out of here! He'll get you too! He's too powerful!" Lisanna could feel the air around her start to disappear slowly. Her hand went to her chest as it began to tighten from lack of oxygen. "No…" She said with a shaky voice.

Natsu stopped as he looked back over his shoulder, seeing Lisanna falling to her knees as she gasped for air. His dark eyes went wide as he quickly turned and ran to her, the invisible wall stopping him on the other side of the white haired girl. "What the hell?! What the hell is this?!"

Lisanna looked up to the centaur with one open eye, her words struggling to get out. "It's… his ma…gic… Nat…su… you have… to… leave me…"

Natsu pounded a fiery fist on the wall. "Forget it! I'm not leaving you like this!" The red centaur pounded and pounded against the rune wall, trying desperately to get some form of opening for Lisanna to get air from. "Damn it!" He shouted as there wasn't a single crack forming from his fists. Desperation was taking him over as he slammed his head against the wall, gritting his teeth as he made contact. He ignored the pain and continued to drive his head forward repeatedly.

"It's no use, centaur. You cannot free her from that enchantment. Anyone who steps foot in that spot, will lose all oxygen within a matter of minutes. I am the only one who can dispel it." The mage said as he watched Natsu ignored him completely.

Lisanna looked up to Natsu's onyx eyes. They were burning with anger. The white haired girl held up a hand to the wall, her voice low. "Natsu…"

The red centaur stopped his movements as he panted slightly, exhaustion was creeping in. He had expelled so much magic energy already attempting to break down the wall to free Lisanna, not to mention the growing headache he was giving himself. Sweat ran down from his forehead to his chin as he looked at Lisanna. She was still gasping for air, her eyes starting to gloss over as she struggled to stay conscious. He knew she was trying to tell him with her expression to leave her. The centaur shook his head as he pounded a fist against the wall once more. "I'm not leaving you! So stop givin' me that hopeless look! You're part of Fairy Tail! And I'm going to get you home! Your sister, your brother! They're waiting for you!" Flames appeared back over the centaurs' fists as he pulled them back behind his head. "So I'm not giving up so easily!"

Freed closed his eyes as he turned his back to the centaur. "It's useless. Nothing and no one can break that barrier. Not unless you can rewrite those runes. And judging from your magic… you can't help her. So just let her die in peace."

Natsu turned his head to stare daggers at Freed, his veins appearing over his forehead with animosity written all over his face. "You call letting someone suffocate, dying in peace?! You're such a monster." The red centaur turned around completely, his fists falling to his sides as they slid away from the invisible wall. The centaur slowly made his way towards Freed, fire forming all around his whole body. "I'm going to show you true pain for what you have done."

"Pain?" Freed said. "Do you even know the true meaning of that word?" The green haired man looked back at the centaur who was still making his way slowly to him. Freed quickly pulled out his sword and began to write runes in the air in front of his body. "BECAUSE I CAN SHOW YOU THE TRUE MEANING OF PAIN CENTAUR!" The green haired mage thrust his sword forward, shoving the runes right at the centaur. The purple runes ran across Natsu's chest, sinking into his body quickly.

Natsu clenched his chest with a fist, most of his flames disappearing instantly. "What… the hell… did you do?!"

Freed's right eye glowed as he started walking back towards the centaur, his sword still drawn. "Can't you feel it? The pain coursing through your whole body?" He watched as Natsu's legs started to shake and give under the immense pain he was being put under. "It is called Dark Ecriture. And with it, I can make you feel the worst kind of feeling in the world. I will make you suffer to the point where you will be begging for death to claim you."

Natsu's fire began to disappear completely as he started to pant heavily, fighting back against the spell the best he could. His onyx eyes stared widely into the cold ground. _'This pain… it's so intense! I don't know how much more I can take before it completely takes me over!'_ The red centaur clenched his jaw tightly as he slowly raised his head to Freed who was right in front of him now. _'This guy's magic is crazy! But I have to try to defeat him! Not only for Lisanna, but for the others!_' The pink haired centaur started to yell out as he forged flames from every inch of his body, making the mage take a few steps backwards to avoid getting burned.

Freed's eyes widened at the sight. "What?! That's impossible! You should be incapable of using your magic right now! The amount of pain you should be feeling should make you immobile!"

The centaur's eyes stayed on Freed as he slowly started to stand, fighting back against the wave after wave of pain. "I told ya… I'm going… to show you… true pain for what… you have done!"

Freed scowled as he raised his sword. "I don't think so foul creature! All I have to do is increase the amount of pain the runes are making you feel!" The mage swung his sword repeatedly at Natsu, causing a bright purple light to shine on the centaur as rune after rune hit him with increasing pain. "_Pain! Pain! Pain!"_ Freed shouted as he attacked Natsu.

The red centaur cried out in excruciating pain as he once again fell to his knees. His fists pounded on the stone floor beneath him as he took blow after blow. He could feel himself starting to lose consciousness, just as Lisanna had minutes ago. '_I can't… I can't let this guy win! But I can't do anything when he's got me pinned down like this! Damn it… I don't think I can take much more!'_

The pain Freed was inflicting had suddenly stopped, allowing Natsu to regain some consciousness. The red centaur looked up with one open eye, surprised to see that Gajeel had come up from behind Freed and had him held in a tight headlock with one arm. His free arm had formed into an iron spear aimed right at the mages throat. Natsu smiled weakly as he opened his mouth to speak. "Ga…jeel…"

"You done playin' around flame brain? Looks like this guy almost was able to take you out." The black haired centaur said as he looked over the centaur on the ground.

Natsu began to stand up slowly, his legs still trying to find stability. "Yeah." He said as he wiped the sweat from his chin with a grin forming over his lips. "He almost did. I'm lucky you showed up when you did."

Gajeel turned his attention to the mage he held in his arm. "Now then… so long as you cooperate with us, you get to keep your life."

Freed didn't move a muscle as Gajeel pressed the tip of his iron spear to his neck. "Go ahead and kill me. I do not fear death."

The black centaur grinned as he let out a laugh. "Nice try pal, but we need you alive. We got lucky with you. From the way you are dressed, looks like you are pretty important to the people in this god forsaken place. You are gonna take us to the other centaurs held captive, and then if we run into any other soldiers or that damned general, you are going to be our hostage so we can get out of here safely. Got a problem with that?" The man stayed silent, still not daring to move a muscle. Crimson orbs looked back to Natsu who held onto his side with an arm. "You gonna be able to move on your own?"

The red centaur grinned and held up a thumbs up. The centaur holding onto the mage grinned at the gesture. "Now then… take down that spell you have on that girl over there and we can get movin'."

Freed held up his hand and did as he was told. His fingers wrote into the air, making the spell holding Lisanna captive disappear. The pink haired centaur leaned down and picked the girl up easily. He carefully placed her over his back, letting her limp body drape over him. He nodded at Gajeel as he stepped forward towards him, letting the other centaur know he was ok to move on.

Gajeel jerked his arm holding the mage up slightly. "Take us to the cells, unless you want this to be your final resting place. And no tricks, or else this iron spear is gonna—" A dizzy spell came over the centaur abruptly, causing his vision to start to fade. His grip on the mages neck began to slip as the dazed and confused centaur was starting to succumb to sleep. "What… the…" Crimson eyes watched as Natsu was first to fall to the ground with a thud, completely asleep. Gajeel's hand came up to his head, gripping his hair lightly. "What's going on? Why does this… magic feel so familiar?" Large black centaur legs fell to the ground roughly. The black haired creature could feel his vision starting to go dark as a sleeping spell was being put on him. He caught a glimpse of another figure heading towards them. They were masked and had their arms and legs covered mostly by bandages. His body was covered by a dark blue cloak that seemed to match his bandana, hiding his true appearance completely.

Freed looked to man approaching them. "It's about time you showed up."

The man spoke with a deep and calming voice as he stopped a few feet in front of the black centaur. "I'm sorry, but I was with the princess. She has informed me to bring the black centaur to her chambers once he was subdued."

Freed eyed Gajeel who was clinging to awareness, trying desperately to figure out where he had felt this magic before. "From the looks of things, this creature isn't fully asleep yet. Perhaps I should help him bring him to a full slumber?" The green haired mage said as he reached for his sword.

Mystogan raised a hand to Freed. "That won't be necessary." Gajeel watched as Mystogan looked his way, his hand raised to the centaur now. The dark haired creature could feel the sleeping spell increase throughout his body. He growled as he fell over onto his side, his crimson eyes still on the new mage in front of him. '_I know him… but… how? Why does his presence feel so familiar to me? Even his scent… I've smelled it before… but… I…'_ His eye lids became heavy and could no longer stay open as the spell took him over completely, his own thoughts cut off.

Freed adjusted his coat as he nudged Gajeel's head with his boot. "Seems like the spell actually worked on the beast. The other one was surprisingly stronger than I expected."

"Don't ever underestimate the centaurs. They are a strong and proud race and are not to be taken lightly." Mystogan said as he turned around and started heading back the way he came.

Freed crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at the back of Mystogans head. "You know this because you were one of them, correct?" Mystogan stopped in his tracks, standing perfectly still as Freed continued. "That's why this thing recognized your magic power, and why it took more effort from you to use it on him. You've used it on him before, haven't you?"

Mystogan stood silently for another minute before he continued walking. "I have work to do. I will be sure to send some guards here to help you move the bodies."

Freed watched as Mystogan vanished into the corridor. "Hm. Something tells me he is hiding something… not only from us…" A greenish blue eye glanced down at Gajeel as he slept. "But to them as well."

* * *

**AN: hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next one is going to be the crazy one so that's exciting. Please don't forget to review and let me know your thoughts! :D Thank you all for reading and reviewing!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Chapter 10**

**Ok so, once again, the part I wanted to write and get posted will have to wait until the next chapter because I kept adding more things to this one lol anywhos! There will be a small time skip in the next chapter, annnnd I hope you all enjoy this one! **** I wrote this mostly when I was tired, but I read over it and hopefully caught all of my mistakes! Please forgive me if I missed any, I will go back and fix later.**

**sassykitten1701: update is here! Yay! :) I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be posted because it'll probably be longer than this one…**

**Takiarika: lol well you find out some… interesting things in this chapter. ;) and don't worry, I ship Gajevy so hard, I wouldn't make either of them have sex with anyone else! ( I did that one time with another pairing and as much as I hated doing it, it was important to the plot of the story so it had to be done) but fear not! There was no sex in this chapter!**

**kurahieiritr JIO: *insert evil laugh* yes yes… so many questions… lol and we shall find out whats going to happen to everyone in this chapter and the next. Mostly the next lol**

**HUGE SHOUT OUT TO MSKTK!**

**Ok guys, so she has just update her story Monster, an awesome Gajevy fic that you all should read, if you aren't reading it already! Please go check it out because it's such a great story for those two characters! Drama, romance, violence, and so much much more! :D please go read it and give MsKtk some love by reviewing her chapters! She's an amazing writer and I have so much love, respect, and thankfulness for her. she has helped me out so much with my trilogy and honestly, if it wasn't for her, I would have never gotten into FF in the first place, well, writing that is. I owe quite a bit to her so this is the least I can do **** she is one of my best friends in real life and I just want everyone else to see how amazing she is through her writing!**

* * *

Years ago…

Erza walked into her tent, her lips instantly curling as she saw the blue haired centaur working quietly under a small light. He was focusing on something and didn't hear the scarlet centaur enter. She made her way over to the other centaur in the room, her arms wrapping around his bare shoulders slowly as she stood beside him. "Still working on that bracelet?"

Jellal kept his brown eyes on the leather bracelet in his hands as he spoke. "Yes. Unfortunately this new magic Master has told me about is quite complicated and I'm having some trouble with it."

The scarlet haired centaur took her arms back. She stepped in closer so she could lean in and take a closer look at what he was working on. "Is there something I can help with?"

The blue haired centaur glanced over to Erza as she leaned in, watching her scarlet red hair fall down over the side of her face, shielding her eyes from him. He smiled as he reached up and lightly moved back her hair behind her ear, causing her to glance his way. Their eyes locked for a long moment before Erza blushed slightly and turned her attention back to the bracelet in one of Jellals' hands.

"Do you have to do that every time?" Erza asked as she picked up the notes the dark blue centaur was looking over.

Jellal smiled as he continued to watch her. "You know I can't help myself. Those scarlet locks are just too tantalizing not to touch." His hand fell to the table he was working at. "Unlike my unruly hair… yours is beautiful… always framing that heavenly face nicely."

"Your flattery isn't getting you anywhere." Erza said with a smirk.

Jellal chuckled slightly as his brown eyes went to the bracelet in his hand. "Well anything is better than trying to wrap my mind around this."

The scarlet centaur took the leather piece from Jellals' hands. "What is this even supposed to do?"

"The bracelet is supposed to be enchanted so that any human could become centaur so long as they are wearing it. He wants them to be able to experience being one of us, just as Mavis wanted all those years ago. Perhaps it'll make them see how we live a bit easier. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out this enchantment Master told me to use. It's more complex than what he explained to me." Jellal responded.

Erza smiled as she placed the bracelet down on the table. "Then perhaps you should take a break from figuring this out." Jellal raised a brow as he turned his head to her. She matched his expression with her own.

"I thought you said my flattery was getting me nowhere." Jellal said with a grin.

The scarlet haired centaur brought her hand up to the other centaurs' face, her thumb running over his red tattoo under his right eye. "It hasn't. But I think you could use a distraction right now."

Jellal brought his own hand up to Erza's hair, his fingers getting lost in scarlet strands as he slowly brought her lips in closer to his own. "Perhaps you are correct."

* * *

Mystogan gripped his headband tightly as fragmented memories flashed through his mind. He pulled off the headband and pulled down the mask covering the lower half of his face revealing his blue hair and tattooed face. '_Why do I have so much guilt about what I did so long ago? The look on her face… why… why does it haunt me?! And I keep having these memories of events, she's in all of them. What's going on with me? These memories I that I can't remember ever happening to me… they keep playing over and over in my head… but why? Why now?!'_

Freeds' words entered his mind. "_You know this because you were one of them, correct? That's why this thing recognized your magic power, and why it took more effort from you to use it on him. You've used it on him before, haven't you?"_

"This is all too confusing… I don't remember being a centaur… but in these memories… it is me… with that scarlet centaur. And as for that black centaur… I don't ever remember seeing him before. Maybe he was there that day when I had to use my magic on the other centaurs?" Brown eyes glanced down at the leather bracelet wrapped around his bandaged wrist. "Could it be that it's true? I was one of them before? I can't remember why I have this… or how it got on my wrist…" Mystogans' hand moved over to the leather, gripping it lightly as he pulled at it. He quickly gave up when the bracelet didn't budge. "It's not coming off…" His hands fell to his sides as his fist clenched tightly. He was confused by all of this. For as long as he could remember, he was in the castle, living there, researching different plants and spells. The whole time he had been there, he has always had that damned thing on his wrist. He never knew how it got on him, but it was there. He knew the other centaurs being held captive were to wear them to keep them in their human form. He was told to make more every once in a while, using the spell the princess had given him personally.

'_I don't understand why I have one as well. Perhaps it is serving a different purpose for me._' Mystogan sighed as he closed his eyes as his hand came up to his head. _'I have to find out why I am seeing her though… she looks so familiar… but I swear I have never met her… but how is it that she is in my dreams every night? My thoughts? That smile, those eyes, that scarlet hair… why does it all feel so familiar?'_ Mystogans' thoughts quickly were cut off as a knock on his door could be heard. His brown eyes opened slowly as someone entered the room.

One of the personal guards of the princess entered and spoke. "Mystogan. Your presence is requested in the cells."

Without turning around, the blue haired mage answered. "What for?"

The guard stood in place as he responded. "The princess would like for you to join General Dreyar. You two are to deal with the centaur and the servant girl who were caught."

"Can it wait until morning?" Mystogan asked.

The guard kept his gaze on the back of Mystogans' head. "No. Princess Hisui has requested they be dealt with before the party in two days' time."

The blue haired mage turned his head slightly towards the guard. "Very well. I will be there shortly." The guard bowed his head slightly just before he turned around and walked out, closing the door behind him. Mystogan picked up his headband and pulled it over his blue hair, his hands moving down to his mask a second later to pull it up over his mouth. "My work never seems to end around here. I'm fine with it though… it keeps my mind away from that scarlet centaur…"

The mage glanced over to his many staffs and thought to himself. '_I should probably take those with me this time. If that red centaur was putting up a fight against Freed, I might need to use some stronger magic as well.'_

* * *

Crimson eyes began to open slowly, adjusting to their new surroundings as the sleeping spell was wearing off_. 'Where… where am I? I hear people around me… is it… Natsu?'_ Gajeel closed his eyes softly_. 'No… it's not him… the smell is different… it's those damn guards… but… someone else is in here too… it's a different scent from Shorty's'… but it's definitely a woman…_' The black centaur slowly opened his eyes once more, trying to figure out where he was. He could make out three figures a few feet away from him. _'I could take them out… their backs are to me, it would be easy_.'

Gajeel stepped forward one step and raised his arm slightly. His eyes widened as he was suddenly stopped by a chain from further movements. His crimson eyes looked down at his hooves and arms. Thick chains were wrapped around his hooves, all four of them. His wrists were trapped by the same thick iron. '_What the…?'_ The centaur pulled and tugged at the chains, ignoring the slight burning sensation coming from them. His eyes followed them back to the wall where they were secured into. Gajeel grinned as he looked back down at his wrists. '_Whatever… I can eat my way out.' _The large beast brought one of his arms up close to his mouth, his teeth quickly biting down on the cold chains around his wrist.

The centaur yelled out in pain as a sudden burning fell over his tongue, causing the guards and the third person to turn around and look at him. He gritted his teeth as his tongue burned as if it had just touched acid. The soldiers had pulled out their swords as they stepped towards the centaur. Gajeel, even though he was chained, was ready to fight. He kept his hooves planted in their spot as his arms came up in front of his body, his fists clenched tightly. He smirked as he spoke. "Ya want to try to take me down? It's sad you guys only have a set of balls to do it while I'm chained up like this… doesn't matter… I'll still kill ya if ya come at me."

The third figure stepped forward and spoke softly. "There's no need for such hostility… please… gentlemen… put away your weapons and leave us."

Gajeel and the soldiers were shocked by the woman's demand. One guard kept his sword pointed at the centaur as he spoke to the princess. "Princess, I'm sorry, but we cannot leave you alone with this thing! He could easily break free of those chains and come after you!"

The princess giggled as she stepped towards Gajeel. "Please, gentlemen. I have made sure that these chains are enchanted to hold him. I am perfectly capable of handling him myself, but if I need you, I shall call. Please step outside and leave me be with this lovely creature."

The guards hesitated before withdrawing their swords, sheathing them slowly. They both bowed and left the room. Gajeel glared at the green haired woman before him, confusion coming over him. '_She told them to leave us alone… but why?'_

Hisui kept her gaze on the centaur as she smiled. The black centaur raised a brow at her as she stared. She finally spoke after a long minute of silence. "I bet you are wondering why I told them to leave…"

"Heh… like I care. Just answer me this… why am I the only one here? Where's Natsu?" Gajeel barked back.

The green haired princess smiled as she took another step towards Gajeel. "Because you are the only important one, Black Steel Gajeel."

Crimson eyes went wide as he heard her speak his name. They quickly narrowed as he pulled at the chains holding him, trying to get closer to the woman in front of him. "What's going on?! What have you done with him and why am I the only important one to you?!"

Hisui giggled as she stepped back. "Not to me. No. To my _master_."

"Master? But… aren't you the one who is in charge around here?!" Gajeel said angrily.

Another voice entered the centaurs' ears as a figure stepped from the shadows. "I am the one running this show, centaur." Gajeel looked past Hisui at the figure walking towards them now. It was a tall and pale woman with long, white hair with a piece of hair sticking up and curling above her head, giving her an appearance of having a halo with two tresses of hair falling down past her shoulders. She was wearing a short dress made up of white feathers with a split in the middle of her torso reaching down to her navel, revealing much of her cleavage. The deep v-cut was lined by a row of long white feathers on each side, continuing up her torso and wrapping around her shoulders to form a collar. She also dawned two wing-like tattoos on her collarbone. Her arms and legs were covered by dark blue gloves and stockings that came up to her elbows and knees. The centaur noticed that even her boots were decorated with white feathers as well.

He growled as he thought to himself. '_What's with this woman?! Is she trying to look like a damn bird or what? And what is her part in all of this?!'_ Crimson eyes shifted from Hisui and the new woman standing before him now. "So if that girl isn't in charge… who the hell are you? And what do you want with me?"

The white haired woman grinned as she placed a hand over Hisui's green hair. "I am not dumb enough to spill the whole plan I have come up with to a being like you. Especially when you hold a major part in it. And as for who I am…" The woman looked at Hisui and smiled. "Why don't you go ahead and tell him Gemini."

The black centaur shifted his gaze back and forth between the two women. '_Gemini?'_

The princess grinned as she suddenly turned into a puff of smoke. A second later, the centaur saw two floating beings, moving their small limbs as they floated in the air. Both looked identical with their blue bodies, and black, beady eyes. The only difference Gajeel could see was the color of their shorts one dawning orange while the other wore black, the direction their mouths pointed, and the way they wore their belts across their chests.

"Boy Mini, it feels so good to be in our original form finally!" The first one said.

The one referred as Mini spoke next. "I hear you Gemi! Being that princess is so much hard work!"

They both spoke in unison as they moved their limbs in various poses. "Piri-piri!"

Gemi spoke once more. "But Master Angel is smart. She has fooled everyone in this castle!"

Mini spoke immediately after. "Making them all believe that we are the real princess to make them do her bidding!"

The woman crossed her arms over her chest, a smile curling her lips as she spoke. "Ok Gemini… that's enough. You don't want to ruin my entire plan, do you?"

"Piri-piri!" They repeated.

"So if this… thing… is pretending to be the princess… where's the real one?" Gajeel said through narrowed eyes.

Angel tilted her head slightly at the centaur as she brought a single finger to her lips. "Wouldn't you like to know…"

"So then was it you? All those years ago?" Gajeel clenched his fists tightly, his blood starting to boil. "If you are running the show around here… was it you who told them to capture our comrades? Make us believe you had them killed in cold blood in front of us?! Tell me… was it all you?!"

Angel grinned as her purple eyes narrowed slyly. "And if I said yes?"

The centaur tugged at the chains as he growled, every muscle tensing up on his body. He could feel the same burning feeling on his wrists and above his hooves as he tried to reach Angel.

The white haired girl shook her finger back and forth. "Tsk tsk tsk… the more you struggle in those chains… the more they will burn you. Eventually, if you keep struggling, they'll burn right through your skin and maybe even your bones!"

Gajeel knew she wasn't lying about the enchanted chains. They were already burning his skin the more he tugged and pulled against them. _'Looks like I might have to play along with her game for now… god damn it this is so annoying… if these chains weren't enchanted I could just eat my way out of here.'_

"Gemini. Transform back into Princess Hisui. You know what to do at the party, make sure this creature is hidden until that time." Angel said as she walked away from them, disappearing back into the shadows. The black centaur figured there must be a secret room or passage in this place, thus why he couldn't smell her, just the guards and Gemini. The centaur watched the spirits turn into a cloud of smoke, once more taking the form of the princess.

"So what now? You just gonna leave me in here?" Gajeel growled.

Gemini looked at Gajeel with beady black eyes as they played the role of the princess. "We are simply doing as Master Angel asks. We shall keep you hidden in here until the party." Black eyes with white pupils turned green, hiding the truth of who the princess really was. "That's when the fun will really begin!"

* * *

Lisanna awoke to Natsu struggling with his chains, her mind still a little hazy from the spell she was put under. Once her eyes opened fully, she looked around. She was being hung from the ceiling, still in her human form. She looked above and saw the chains holding her up before her eyes looked over to the centaur a few feet away from her. He not only had his hands bound to the chains above his head, but his hooves were bound from the ground, stretching out every inch of his body so he was completely immobile. He had a piece of cloth wrapped around his mouth, muffling his angry words.

"Natsu…?" She said weakly.

The red centaur turned his head to look at the girl, his mouth moving against the cloth. She knew he was saying her name and trying to ask if she was ok. The girl nodded as she smiled slightly.

"Yes… I'm ok." Her smile quickly faded as her expression grew sad. "Natsu… this isn't good… I don't know what they are going to do to us. But from the looks of things… it's not going to be good."

Natsu growled as he turned his head forward. He struggled in his restraints, mouthing off angrily once more for several minutes. All Lisanna could do was listen to him. She had no clue what was going to happen, who was going to show up, and how the two of them were going to get out, if at all. They both could hear the cell doors opening, the old metal creaked loudly as someone swung the door open wide, allowing three figures to walk in. Lisanna watched as Laxus, Freed, and Mystogan filed in one after another. She could make out Freed talking to Laxus about what had happened some time ago.

Freed crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke to Laxus. "As I came upon them both, I could hear her talking about having a plan to get out of here with the rest of the prisoners. She told the creature to leave, but he was definitely not willing to go without the others."

Laxus looked to Lisanna as Freed talked. He was silent as he thought. After Freed had finished speaking, Laxus waited another minute before he responded. "Is it true? Did you come up with a plan to get out of here along with the others?" He watched Lisanna bite down on her lip lightly, not saying a word back to him. The general crossed his brows as he started to grow angry. "You do know it is treason, what you were planning. And why would you want to leave this place?" He asked as he stepped towards her, his arms coming up from his sides slightly. "You have everything you could possibly want in here. A roof over your head, a room of your own, and a special privilege to roam around the castle at your free will."

"Free will?" Lisanna finally spoke. "You call being held captive in this human body and forced to work as a servant in this castle free will?! Do you even know how poorly I am treated by the guards and everyone else who works in this god forsaken place?! There is only one person who treats me with respect around here, and it certainly isn't the princess! You walk around here with your head held up high, without a damn care in the world! All you have to do is be at her beck and call. Occasionally go looking for centaurs who have been spotted in the area around here. But what good are you really?" Lisanna raised a brow as she smirked weakly. "You probably couldn't even land a single hit with that sword at your waist. You probably let the guards do all the hard work around here and then claim it as your own. And don't get me started on how much of a pet you are to the princess… because let's face it… if it wasn't for her… you'd be nothing."

Laxus growled angrily as he raised a hand, quickly striking the girls' face. Natsu struggled and pulled against his restraints as he heard the white haired girl cry out in pain from the slap she received. He was trying desperately to use his fire magic, but for some reason nothing was working.

Blue eyes stared at the general with hatred. Lisanna could feel a small trickle of warm blood rolling down her chin from her lip, the newly sting from the slap reminding her that she was helpless right now. She couldn't do anything to save herself or Natsu, but she couldn't just keep her mouth shut. '_If I'm going to die here… then I'm not going to go silently.' _She thought to herself.

Freed pulled out his own sword and pointed it right to Natsu's neck, his greenish blue eye glaring daggers at the centaur. "If I were you, I'd be quiet. You cannot escape those chains and frankly I find you even more annoying with all the sound you are making."

Natsu yelled through the cloth, his words still inaudible. Laxus shot a glance to Freed quickly. "Will you shut him up?!"

Freed did as he was told and wrote out runes with his sword quickly, thrusting them forward to the centaurs bare chest. The red centaur immediately felt the same stabbing and unforgettable pain he had endured earlier. It was running through his entire body as he was held in place by the chains. They could hear him cry out through the cloth wrapped around his mouth, but that didn't stop the green haired mage from continuing his attacks, sending wave, after wave of pain to the centaur.

Lisannas' eyes widened as she watched Natsu suffer. "Please stop it! You're going to kill him!"

Laxus looked back to Lisanna, his dark eyes cold. "You will be next so shut your trap! We were told to keep him alive… he is going to be serving a purpose. But that isn't going to stop us from having a bit of fun with him first…" The general grinned as he started to form bits of lightning around his body. All Lisanna could do was watch in horror as not only Freed, but Laxus attacked Natsu repeatedly, his muffled yells of pain never ending.

Mystogan looked away from the whole thing. Each muffled yell flooded his head with more memories, flashes of what happened long ago. The mage finally looked up at Laxus and Freed as they continued their vicious attack on the centaur. He stepped closer to Laxus and reached his hand outward. "Alright, that's enough."

The large general ignored the man behind him and unleashed another bolt of lightning at the centaur. Mystogan could see smoke rising from Natsu's skin now, his body completely covered in burns and newly opened wounds from each strike. Freed had stopped his rune magic as Mystogan spoke again. "I said, that's enough." He grabbed Laxus's arm, jerking the large man back some. "You're going to kill the centaur at this rate."

The general growled angrily as he stared at Mystogan. He raised a hand and reached out for the concealed mages' mask, tearing it off completely. "YOU DON'T GET TO TELL ME WHEN TO STOP MY FUN!"

Mystogan stepped back as Laxus tore off his mask, his eyes darting to the lightning general. As he stood up straight, he narrowed his eyes on Laxus. "Do I need to remind you that the princess wants him alive? Look at what you've done to him already!"

The larger man crossed his arms over his chest as he tilted his head to the side. "Yeah? So what? He's bleeding bit and he smells like he's been roasted. Who gives a crap?"

Mystogan reached back to his staffs, keeping his hand on one of them, ready to use them at any moment. "If you do not cease these attacks… I will be forced to deal with you my way. I think we both know who the princess relies on more these days… so make your move, general."

Laxus growled once more as he dropped his arms down to his sides and clenched his fists tightly. He always grew angry when Mystogan would play that card on him. He knew the princess would choose that mage over her own general in a heartbeat. Although they were close in magic power, Mystogan had the upper hand somehow. The lightning mage let out a huff as he closed his eyes. "Fine. I was done having my way with him anyway."

Freed stepped towards the general, his sword still in hand. "But, Sir! Are you just going to roll over and let this man talk to you like that?!"

Dark eyes opened slowly and stared daggers into Mystogan. "What choice do I have? Come on… let's get the hell out of here. Mystic man over here can deal with these two on his own." Just as the large man finished his sentence, he made his way to the door and disappeared, Freed following close behind him.

Mystogan let out a sigh as he glanced down at his torn mask. He reached down to pick it up when he could hear Lisannas' voice speaking to him quietly. "Jellal? Is… is that you?"

Brown eyes glanced up at the girl hanging from the ceiling, his eyes quickly moving to Natsu as he groaned out in pain. The mage walked over to the red centaur, placing his hand over his head.

"Wait! What are you doing to him?! Please, leave him alone and punish me!" Lisanna said quickly.

"Relax. I am simply putting him to sleep so that he will not feel the pain right now. I'm surprised he's even still alive. Being attacked like that by two of our most powerful mages in the castle… he's lucky the princess wanted me to be here… otherwise… he would be dead."

"So… is that really you, Jellal?" Lisanna asked once more.

Mystogan looked back her way, his stoic expression unwavering. "My name is Mystogan. I do not know of this Jellal you speak of."

"But… you look just like him! He disappeared from our home many years ago, before I was captured and forced to work here! He was part of Fairy Tail, a fellow centaur like me!"

Mystogan made his way over to Lisanna. "As you can see, I am human. And I don't know anything about this place you call Fairy Tail. I only know of the centaurs that come from it. I have heard many things over the years about you all."

The white haired girl shook her head. "No, it's not true. You are Jellal! Don't you remember living with us?! With Erza?"

Mystogan eyes went wide at the name Lisanna had just spoken. His hand came up to his head as he gripped his blue hair tightly. "Er…za?"

"Yes! Erza! Do you remember her?!" Lisanna asked excitedly.

"Is that your name… scarlet centaur?" He asked to himself quietly.

"You must be Jellal! You know what she looks like, you have to remember! You were part of Fairy Tail and you went out one day and never came back! She was so worried about you for so long, and when she came here to rescue us, I know she was hoping to see you here too!" Lisanna said in desperation, trying to get the man before her to remember.

Mystogan remained silent for a long minute before looking up at the girl. "She haunts my dreams every night… I see her… that scarlet hair…"

"Yes! Jellal, please remember!" The white haired girl pleaded. "I know who you are! I don't know what they have done to you, but if you remember Erza, you have to be Jellal!"

Mystogan shook his head slowly. "No. I don't know who that scarlet centaur is. And my name is Mystogan. I have been in this castle my whole life. This Jellal you speak of… he is probably dead, and has been for a long time." The mage turned around and started for the door, he stopped as he heard Lisanna call out to him.

"Please! You can't just leave us in here like this! I know who you really are and I know you would do anything to help us get out of here! Please… don't leave…"

Mystogan turned his head slightly, his eyes shaded as he spoke. "I'm sorry… I cannot help you get out of here…" He turned his head back around and started walking away. "I will be sure your friend does not die, but that is all the help I can offer to you both." Mystogan could hear the girl pleading as she cried out for his help, begging him not to leave them there. The mage closed his eyes and droned out her words. He looked to the single guard on duty. "Put her with the other captive centaurs and let the red one be bound from the ground. He is going to be out for a while so he doesn't need to be chained from above and below."

"Yes, Sir." The guard said as he made his way into the cell as commanded.

Mystogan made his way back to his room, Lisannas' words running through his mind. "Erza… was I truly a part of your world? Or is this just some ruse to get me to help them? Perhaps she is putting these images and memories into my head somehow… it would make sense to drive me mad with these unanswerable questions and thoughts. After what I did to them… it would only be fair."

* * *

**AN: not sure when the next chapter will be posted this time because it's probably going to be longer than any other one I've written so far. I have a lot going through my brain on what I want to have happen so let's see if I can actually make it happen on "paper" lol hope you all still enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward for more to come! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**AN: ok so, first little part is a very short flashback, and all I can say is that I hope you all enjoy the rest of the chapter. The next one is going to be crazy and I can't wait to write it. well, to be honest, I can't wait to just write more chapters for this story lol I have so many ideas and plans for it that my brain is constantly thinking about it. at work, before I go to bed, when I'm working on other stories lol I don't keep notes often, but I might have to with this story so I don't forget anything.**

**I will say this… I have plans for things that happen in this chapter and all will be further explained as the story goes on. (in case you couldn't tell, I'm doing this on purpose *Insert evil laugh*) and I just want to remind people that this is an AU and that things that I mention in this story aren't going to be the same as how it is explained in the manga or show so please keep that in mind while you guys read so you don't say hey! You said this but that's not what it means or is for, your wrong, etc etc, it'll all work out in the end and I hope you all will continue to read and enjoy what I have instore :)**

**Takiarika: you are most welcome! **** I hope this chapter will not disappoint!**

**piranha pk: thank you! and yes! Always a plot twist… its what I do lol **

**Nyma: hahaha yaaay! I'm seriously so happy you started reading this story as well. My only hope is that I can keep this story interesting and keep it going for all of you! not to mention its becoming more serious than I originally thought it would be and its making it more fun to write! :D**

**kurahieiritr JIO: *fist pump* yussss! I'm awesome. Lol and as for Mystogan/Jellal… that will be further explained/gone into later ;) and we only scratch the surface with Gajeels whole part in this in this chpt. As for the real princess Hisui… I'm going to keep her a secret. is she dead? Alive? Who knows! Only me!mwahahaha! and yes… what a mess… and its only going to get messier….**

**Gaia Kame: ah! Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much! And I shall try to keep the work awesome! I push myself to keep this story interesting and going because I want you all to fall in love with it and where its going to end up! :D**

**Guest: thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

* * *

Natsu grinned as he tossed his ball up into the air, catching it as it came back down. "I'm so ready to take on Gray today, Happy! There's no way he's gonna beat me this time! Not when I've got my secret move up my sleeve!"

The tiny satyr threw his arms up into the air as his blue tail moved back and forth excitedly as he spoke one simple word. "Aye!"

The young centaur opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he heard the sudden sounds of someone crying. Onyx eyes scanned around the trail he was walking down for the source of the sound, his pace moving cautiously slow. The small red centaur stopped in his tracks as he saw a young golden centaur laying down in the grass by herself. Happy jumped up onto Natsu's back and put his arms on his small shoulders.

"Who's that?" He said with raised brows, curious to know about this newcomer.

Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. I haven't seen her around Fairy Tail before… should I go see what's wrong with her?"

Happy nodded. "Aye. She could be hurt or something…"

The pink haired centaur nodded and quickly trotted over to the small centaur. As Natsu got closer, he could see her short blonde hair pinned up to one side by a hair tie with two little blue orbs on top. He noticed that she had a few scratches all over her arms but nothing else seemed to look in terrible shape. She wore a sleeveless pink top with a cream color stripe wrapping around the middle, matching the frilly collar around her neck. Natsu raised a brow as he stopped a step away from the other centaur.

"Hey… why are you crying?" He asked directly. His own eyes widened slightly as he saw big chocolate eyes look up to him, full of tears.

"I…" The blonde haired centaur said softly, her sorrow causing her to lose her voice as her warm tears rolled down her cheeks.

Happy jumped down and stepped up to the young girl, placing his hand on her bent leg. "Are you hurt? Can you move?"

The girl shook her head as she rubbed her eyes. "I just… I lost my mommy and daddy… I'm all alone."

Natsu's eyes once more widened at the girls words. "Do you mean you got separated from them? Do you need help finding them?"

The young centaur shook her head as her tears continued. "They're… gone… they told me if anything ever happened to them… that I should go to Fairy Tail… but… I got lost… and I got stuck in a thorn bush… and… I… I don't know what to do…"

Natsu looked to Happy who was looking right back at him in the moment. Both nodded in a silent agreement. The pink haired centaur handed Happy the ball he was carrying before extending his hand out to the blonde haired centaur. "Come with us." He said calmly.

Brown eyes widened and slowly looked up to the red centaur. "What?"

Natsu's lips curled into a wide smile as he spoke. "You want to go to Fairy Tail, right?" He asked as he moved his hand in closer to the golden centaur. "So let's go! To Fairy Tail! Once you're there, you won't ever feel lonely again!"

The blonde haired centaur sniffled and wiped her eyes, taking the other centaurs hand with her own. As he pulled her up, Natsu spoke. "I'm Natsu. And this is Happy. So what's your name?"

The girl wiped her eyes one last time with her free hand. "I'm Lucy."

Natsu smiled sweetly as he held onto the girls' hand. "Come on Lucy. Let's go home."

* * *

Lucy held Happy in her arms tightly, her brown eyes staring at the entrance of Fairy Tail. It had been three days since she last saw Natsu and Gajeel. Worry started to slowly creep in to the golden centaur. '_Three days… three days now since we have seen them both… what if something went wrong and they are in trouble? I can't just rush in there alone… I don't have any magic power anymore… I'd be completely useless…_' Brown eyes widened slightly and quickly softened as they looked down at the satyr who placed a small hand on the girls arm.

Happy was staring up at the centaur, his eyes fighting back his own tears. "They're coming back soon, right? He's gonna come back to us ok?"

Lucy smiled and hugged the satyr tighter. "It'll all be ok, Happy. They'll both come back with everyone else. And when they do, we're going to throw a big party."

A small voice came up from behind the two, sounding just as worried as Happy. "Do really think they'll make it back? All of them?"

Lucy turned her whole body around to see a younger centaur standing behind her, his fists clenched tightly as he stood there shaking. He was young, and had dark purple hair matching his centaur coat, and short tail. His hooves were dark and his form was skinny, matching his lean human torso. He wore a simple dark green shirt with a yellow letter "S" in the middle. The blonde haired centaur let go of Happy so he could jump down from her arms as she made her way over to the small centaur. The blonde haired centaur bent at her waist and placed a soft hand on top of the boys' dark purple hair. "Hey Romeo. Have a little faith in Natsu. You know he isn't coming back home without your dad and the others."

Romeo sniffled as his black eyes began to swell with tears. "I'm trying to be strong… but… it's so hard… to stay positive… you know?"

Lucy smiled as she rubbed the dark purple hair on the boys head. "I know, Romeo. I'm not going to lie, it is very hard to stay positive. But we're part of Fairy Tail, and we are all here for each other. And hope is all we have right now. It's important to not give up on them."

The small centaur sniffled once more as he wiped his eyes free of his warm tears. The satyr walked up next to Romeo and put a hand on his arm. "Want me to take you to Mira? She can make you something to eat. I know food always cheers me up. Especially fish!" The satyr said happily.

Lucy smiled as she watched Romeo nod his head, turn around, and walk away with Happy to the large tent in the center of Fairy Tail. It was a place where everyone could gather to eat and drink together, even celebrate and party for happier occasions. The blonde haired centaur's smile slowly faded as she turned back around to look at the entrance once more. Her closed fist came up to her aching heart as she thought to herself_. 'Please be safe Natsu… there are a lot of us waiting for your return with everyone…. Just come back home safe.'_

* * *

Natsu cried out in pain as Laxus forced his closed fist into his side, sending shocks of lightning throughout the centaurs' body. Freed folded his arms across his chest as he watched Laxus drive his fist into Natsu's sides repeatedly, shocking him unmercifully each time. The blonde haired general let out a breath as he stopped his punches, stepping back to look at his work. "I'm surprised you're still awake for all of this… two days of this torture and you're not giving in? That's pretty impressive."

The red centaur opened one eye weakly as he smirked. "Heh… you're gonna have to hit harder than that to make me talk… and you call that lightning magic strong? Ha… give me a break man… I've been hit with worse…"

Laxus growled loudly as he moved in quickly, his fist coming up and making contact with Natsu's jaw. The centaur's eyes were shaded as he hung his head down slightly, letting the warm blood trickle from his lips to the ground. He thought how painful the punch was but knew he dealt with worse. He used to spar with Gajeel and Gray for heaven's sake! Both hitting him with much harder punches than what the general was dishing out. The centaur smiled as he spoke. "Did anyone tell you… you hit like a girl?" He lifted up his head slowly, revealing his cocky smile as he stared hard through one open eye, the other too swollen to open at the time. "Caz that felt like a light slap compared to what I'm used to gettin'. Maybe you should try harder."

"Why you—" Laxus started as he charged up his attack, his fist coming back behind his head.

Freed spoke quickly, stopping the general from delivering the blow to Natsu. "Laxus! We cannot continue to torture him. We have to go see to the final preparations for the princess. The guests are already arriving and will be in the great hall soon."

The blonde haired general clenched his jaw tightly as he lowered this fist after a minute. He turned around and rolled his shoulders, tilting his head to one side to crack his neck. "Alright… fine…" The general quickly spun his body around and forced his closed fist into Natsu's side. The centaur could feel his bones crack as Laxus made contact, the continuous pounding they received, finally started to show. "I'm done for now… so you better be a good little creature and stay put… not that you're going to get far with those chains around your feet." Dark eyes looked down at the centaurs' hooves, slowly moving back up the rest of his beaten body. "I'll be back later tonight to work on you some more." The blonde haired general turned and started to follow Freed out of the room.

Natsu struggled to breathe in now, his ribs were in an intense amount of pain from the punches and newly formed crack. Even in his weakened state, the centaur still managed to smile and speak weakly. "That's right… go right to your masters' side like the dog you are… looks like I'm not the only pathetic one around here…"

Before Freed could stop him, Laxus rushed back to Natsu, his large hand wrapping around his throat. The general growled loudly as he held the centaur up by his neck, preventing even more air from getting into his body. "WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING?! YOU ARE SUCH A PEST!" Laxus tighten his grip on the centaurs' neck. Natsu gasped and wheezed for air, his fists clenching in their chains as he tried to reach for his own neck. "It would be so easy to kill you right now!"

"Laxus…"

The general's eyes went wide as he turned around to see the princess in the doorway. She had a smile over her lips as she looked to him. "Princess? What are you doing down here?!"

"I was wondering why my general hasn't made it to the great hall yet. My guests are arriving as we speak and I still need help getting… our main attraction… set up for the evening." The green haired girl stretched out her hand. "Come… leave your play thing for now and enjoy the night with me."

Dark eyes turned back to Natsu who was on the brink of passing out from the lack of oxygen. The large general threw down the centaur with force, watching him gasp for air as he laid on the hard ground. "As you wish, my Lady."

A glazed over onyx eye watched as the man who had been torturing him, along with his lackey, left the dimly lit room. The centaur clenched his jaw tightly as he took in a breath of air, the pain in his ribs reminding him that he was still alive. Natsu reached a shaky hand out in front of him as his vision was going in and out of focus. "I have… to get back… to Fairy Tail… I have to… get back… home…"

The centaur closed his eye as a sharp pain in his side caused his reached out hand to come back to his body quickly. '_Damn it! I'm going to get nowhere like this.' _Natsu opened his eye slowly, determination still clinging to him. '_But I've gotta get back to Lucy and Happy… I made a promise… that I would come back… with everyone… I cannot give up now!'_

A nervous man appeared in the doorway now, his head turning back and forth, making sure the coast was clear. The soldier ran in and knelt down to Natsu, bringing a small leather pouch to his lips with one hand and raising the centaurs head with the other. "Here." He said. "Drink this."

Natsu looked up at the man trying to give him something to drink. "Who… who are you? Why are… you helping me?"

The soldier looked at the centaur with sad eyes, clearly sympathetic towards him. "Because you told your friend to spare me… this is the least I can do to help you."

Natsu grinned weakly. "Heh… so you're the one… who helped us in here…"

"Yes, but please, drink this. Its only water, but it'll help you stay hydrated." The man helped Natsu drink the water slowly as he held his head up and the pouch to his lips. "I… I am so sorry this has happened to you… and your friends."

Natsu choked slightly, causing the soldier to bring the leather pouch back to his side. The centaur caught his breath before he spoke. "It's not your fault. Just do me one favor… help the others get out of here."

The man hesitated before he spoke. "I… I don't know if I can…"

Natsu looked straight into the man's eyes with his open one, pleading with him silently for a long minute. "You have to try."

The soldier looked right back into that onyx eye staring back at him. He could see the fire and the hope still a flame in that dark eye. This centaur wasn't giving up hope, even in his weakened state, he was still fighting to stay alive. The man nodded quickly. "O-ok… I'll try."

Natsu grinned as he closed his eye. "Thank you."

The soldier clutched the leather pouch in his hand tightly as his mouth opened to speak. "Can… can I ask your name, centaur?"

The pink haired centaur opened his eye once more, his brow raising at the question for a moment. A smile came over his lips as he spoke. "It's Natsu."

The man smiled back as he laughed slightly. "Well, Natsu… I just wanted to say… thank you. For saving my life. I only hope that I can return the favor." The soldier stood up and turned to walk away, not wanting to stay much longer in case someone was coming back to the creature chained up in the cell.

"Hey, wait… what was your name?" Natsu asked as he watched the man stop at the doorway.

The man turned and smiled as he spoke his name. "It's Henry."

* * *

Angel watched the different guests entering the great hall, a wide grin crossed her lips as she walked around them all. Everyone was dawning their best silk garments and their best noble clothing the country could offer. The white haired woman had changed into a long white gown with a long feather boa wrapped around her neck, the tail draping behind her. She changed her dark blue gloved and stockings for white ones as well. Angel made her way around the guests filing in, stopping beside the princess as she stood at the bottom of the long flight of stairs behind her.

"Everything is going as planned I see… how is our entertainment doing?" She asked coolly.

Princess Hisui looked to Angel and smiled. "He has been exhausting himself trying to get out of those chains… which is good for us because then he won't put up much of a fight when we hold our ceremony with our guests. I have General Dreyar retrieving him as we speak."

Angel smiled as she brought a hand up to Hisui's green hair. "Good. You have done well, _princess_…" The white haired woman brought her hand back and turned, disappearing amongst the crowded hall. Hisui turned her attention back to her guests as they approached and greeted her.

* * *

Gajeel pulled against his chains once more, the burning sensation turned into a numbing feeling now. Crimson eyes closed as his jaw clenched. '_The pain is numbing… wonder if I've just gotten used to it, or if it's just burned through so much already that I just don't care anymore…'_ The centaur could smell burning flesh now as he continued to pull at the chains with his arms and legs. '_Damn it… I just need to get out of here… I need to find Lily…' _Gajeel opened his eyes and stopped pulling at his chains when the door to the room he was being held in opened. He glanced to the doorway, trying to figure out who was coming in.

A scowl came over the large centaurs face as he saw Laxus come into the light nearby. Gajeel could smell fresh blood on the general, that, and the scent of the pink haired centaur lingered on him as well. The black centaur glared at the man standing before him. "So is he still alive? Or did you let your dogs have their way with Natsu after you tortured him?"

Laxus grinned as he glared back at the chained up centaur. "Oh he's still alive. Barely. I think I'm going to go finish having fun with him after this party the princess is throwing."

"So then why are ya here buggin' me? Shouldn't you be with your master?" The centaur said quickly.

Laxus held up his hand with a leather bracelet in his palm. "Oh we'll be with her shortly. First we must get you ready before we see everyone."

Gajeel raised a metal brow, looking at the bracelet questionably. "Whatcha gonna do with that thing?"

Laxus let out a slight laugh as he snapped his fingers at his men. "Oh you'll see centaur. You'll see."

Gajeel growled as he watched the other soldiers enter the room with ropes in their hands. _'What the hell do they have planned?!_' Crimson eyes watched as the soldiers circled around him. They shifted back to the blonde haired general as the large man began to speak again.

"Now then… we're going to be removing those chains around your hooves and wrists, so make sure you're a good little centaur and let us do our job." Laxus said as he watched his men hesitate getting closer to the large creature. He watched Gajeel eye them as they inched closer, their hands reaching out shakily towards his chains. Crimson eyes came back up to match black ones as the men finally reached the shackles holding the centaur in his place. The general raised a brow, wondering if the black centaur was going to try something the moment his feet were free.

Gajeel's red eyes glanced sideways just as the last chain was removed from his legs. He growled loudly as he launched his hind end up and back, kicking at two of the guards and sending them flying away. His back legs moved quickly as they moved underneath him, allowing his front end to come up and hit the two men in the front, pushing them back right onto their asses. Gajeel stretched out his front legs as he came back down, his hooves making contact on the men's legs. The men yelled and cried out in pain as the bones in their shins shattered under the weight of the creatures stomp.

Laxus snapped as he yelled at the men Gajeel sent flying backwards. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! GET THOSE ROPES AROUND HIM! NOW!"

The soldiers were still trying to recover from the kick they just received as they stood slowly, groans escaping their throats. They once again inched closer to the creature who now was only chained up by his wrists, the rest of his body free. Gajeel saw them coming closer and once again, threatened to give them another kick with his back hooves. The men raised their arms over their faces as they stopped in place, leaning back slightly in case flying hooves came at them.

The black centaur grinned as he looked at them, letting out a loud laugh. "You guys are so pathetic and dumb! Now I'm definitely gonna get my ass out of here!"

Laxus growled as he clenched his fists. "I don't think so, vile creature." He said to himself as Gajeel's attention was elsewhere. The general pulled out his sword from his side and quickly made his way closer to the creature still chained in place by his wrists. While the centaur was distracted with his men behind him, the blonde haired general raised his sword, bringing the hilt back down onto the back of Gajeel's head.

The centaur yelled out as the sudden hit to the back of his head made him fall to his knees, his hand reaching back to the pounding sensation he was feeling now. Before he could get his form back up and ready to fight back, the centaur felt the ropes slip around his neck. As the ropes tightened, he could feel his energy leaving his body. His crimson orbs widened as his centaur body shook, his hind end falling down to the ground as well. "What… the hell…?"

Laxus grinned as he stepped up closer to Gajeel as his men wrapped another rope around his wrists, releasing the chains that had been burning his skin for so long. "Can you feel your energy leaving your body, creature? These are magic ropes that take away ones magic abilities and sucks their energy dry, allowing us to do as we please." Laxus nodded at one of his men as he sheathed his sword at his side. "Hold out his arm."

Gajeel winced as the soldier pulled at one of his arms. He was pulling at it so hard, the centaur thought his arm was about to pop out of its socket. It didn't help all of his strength and energy was being zapped even quicker now with the multiple ropes attached to him. '_This isn't good… I can't fight back… what the hell can I do now? It's like they have a solution to everything… using chains with enchantments, and now these ropes? What the hell do they have planned with me that they need to resort to these magical restraints?'_

Laxus slipped on the leather bracelet to Gajeel's arm, stepping back quickly as the magic of the bracelet worked within seconds of being in contact with the centaurs' skin. A bright light engulfed the room, making the men holding the ropes securing Gajeel look away for a moment.

Just as quickly as the light appeared, it vanished, leaving a half-naked man, who was once a centaur being held in rope restraints. Crimson eyes went wide as the new body he dawned felt completely different from his centaur form._ 'This…. This is… impossible! What the hell did they do to me?! I'm a human now?!' _Gajeel's eyes darted at his outstretched arm with the newly added accessory. '_That bracelet! It's made me human! And I can't feel my magic power anymore! Even with the ropes, I could still sense I had some left in me… but now… I… I don't feel it at all!'_

Laxus stepped back as he grinned. "You know it's funny… how such a large and intimidating creature can be brought down to a simple man… all thanks to that bracelet around your wrist."

Gajeel's eyes slowly looked to Laxus as his jaw clenched tightly. "What the hell are you guys planning?!"

The general turned and headed for the door. "You will see soon, Black Steel. Pick him up and bring him to the great hall. The princess and the guests are waiting."

The half-naked man groaned as the soldiers picked him up from underneath his arms, the other men surrounding him still holding their ropes in their hands tightly as they walked him out of the room.

* * *

"Your attention!" Princess Hisui said as she stood on a raised platform with her arms raised above her head. "Your attention, please." She said with a smile. She waited for her guests to turn around and look at her, silence falling the great hall. Her arms came down and in front of her body, her hands neatly clasping together. "Thank you. And thank you all for coming to this grand event. I have something very special in mind for everyone here tonight." She started to walk slowly off to the side as she spoke. "I know you all have been hearing about the recent centaur attacks, and the devastation they leave in their wake. I assure you all that we are doing our very best to deal with them. I have countless men out every day and night searching for their base camp. And I promise, as soon as we find it, the centaurs will all be dealt with accordingly."

The people clapped and cheered at the princesses words. They all looked at each other and spoke quickly about the different rumors they all have been hearing. All fell silent once more as the princess held up her hand and continued to speak.

"But that is not why I have invited you all here tonight. That is not the reason why I have gathered you all here. No. I have something else very special in mind for tonight's entertainment." Hisui turned and started to walk back the way she came on the platform, her hand motioning to the curtains behind her. "I have a very special and unexpected surprise for you all. I have captured a creature so gruesome and feared throughout the land, and turned him to a simple creature easier to deal with."

Hisui watched as the nobles below her looked at each other in confusion. She turned her head to look at a soldier walking towards her. He leaned in and whispered something into her ear, making her lips curl. She looked back out to the crowd and raised her arms once more. "Ladies and gentlemen! Behind this curtain, I have a centaur who I have turned into a man!" She paused as surprised gasps filled the room. "And not just any centaur, I might add... a very special centaur who was chosen by Mavis herself to handle something very precious."

The curtains behind her opened up quickly, revealing the half-naked Gajeel standing in the center of the platform being held in place by the ropes around his neck and wrists. The people surrounding him gasped and brought their hands to their mouths in shock. Hisui looked to her general and nodded her head, silently letting him know to take the bracelet off. She looked back out to the crowd. "I know it is hard to believe that this… naked man is a centaur but I assure you, as soon as that bracelet on his wrist comes off, his true form will show." The princess stopped walking and watched Laxus remove the leather from tanned skin. The bright light that once blinded the centaur appeared once again. Gajeel could feel his human legs grow thicker and longer, his centaur form was returning to him in a matter of seconds.

The well-dressed guests gasped, some screamed, and others began to cry out to kill the creature bound in front of them. Gajeel could feel his muscles tense up as the soldiers pulled harder at the ropes, causing his head to come back some as the ropes around his neck rubbed against his skin roughly. '_This woman is insane… using that… Gemini creature to do her bidding… making these people believe in such insane ideas! And having the nerve to turn me human and present me to these people_!' Gajeel growled just before he spoke. "I swear when I get out of all of this… I'm going to kill each and every last one of you… and all of your guests that are here tonight…" A cocky grin formed over the centaurs lips. "And I'm gonna have a lot of fun bathing in all of your blood when I'm done."

The princess smiled back as she walked over to a small pillar at the end of the platform with a small item on top of it. She reached out and grabbed the knife that rested on it, unsheathing it and turning around to face the crowd. "With this… I will make all of your dreams come true. I will give you all eternal life and powerful magic along with it." Hisui turned and held the knife to her lips as she smiled at Gajeel. "With this… I will carve out that fairy heart beating in your chest, centaur." The green haired woman walked over to the centaur, her hand lazily pointing the sharp and small weapon up to his throat. "But first… I think my guests and I would like to have a bit of fun with you before we kill you."

* * *

**AN:Yes. there is a very important reason why i have named the man who helped Gajeel and Natsu inside... the reason will come in later...  
**

**I would like to say that when I first thought about all of this in the beginning… I was never going to have Natsu get captured, it was only supposed to be Gajeel, but the more I thought about it, the more ideas I ended up coming up with and then bam. Natsu is captured. Lol I also wasn't sure if I was going to make this a LoLu or a NaLu, and I think the more I thought about it, since I haven't done it before, I think it's going to be a NaLu pairing in this story.**

**Anywhos! Still so much to explain for everything that's happening in this story! I hope you all still like it and enjoyed this chapter. It was fun to write and I hope I caught all the mistakes. I read it over but as usual, I may have missed something because I've been staring at a computer screen for too long lol **


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: chapter 12**

**I did not expect to get another chapter up so soon, but I couldn't wait to write more of this story! (would have had it up late last night but I was too tired to read it over lol) the next one is going to be fun to write and I can't wait to write that as well. I think what I'm going to do though is I think I'm going to write the next part of the bonus chapters I'm working on with beautiful. so, not sure when the next chapter will be up, hopefully sometime next week but we'll see!**

**CoSmO333: Yaay! I'm so glad you love it so much! And trust me, I can't wait to write more of it as well! And that's ok, I would answer that question but I don't want to spoil or disappoint you with my answer so you'll just have to wait and see :)**

**xxrisxx: lol yes… I thoroughly enjoy leaving cliffhangers…. It's what I like to do *evil laugh***

**Takiarika: *bows* thank you! I do try hard to keep the story well written, well, as much as I can that is. I'm not a professional writer by any means, but compared to my earlier works, yes, this story is written much better lol I can't tell you how many times I read over these chapters while writing . ; I have MsKtk to thank for that. but it's not all a bad thing, it helps me catch my mistakes and make sure everything is flowing smoothly in the chapter.**

**Nyma: teeheehee! ^^ things are turning alright…**

**kurahieiritr JIO: yes, that was a nod to the show because I like to do things like that. lol and poor Natsu is being quite stubborn, but he has a friend inside. And as for levy, we shall see in the next chapter what happens with her. I touch a little bit in this chapter with her but not enough like the next one. Angel's secret and how she was able to do all of this will come in later in the story for sure. And even though gemini said they were going to pass on what was promised to others… is she really going to do it? or is this all some part of a twisted game?**

**piranha pk: yeeessssss! All of the feels! And there are more to come! Mwahahaha! And thank you so much! I promise there will be levy action in the next one.. and maybe the one after. Idk for sure yet lol depends on how long the next one will end up being.**

* * *

Gajeel glared at the green haired woman as she held the cool blade of the knife to his throat. "Fairy heart? What the hell are you talking about? I ain't special… I'm just a normal centaur. Mavis never gave me nothin'. So whatever you have heard, your sources are clearly wrong."

Hisui smiled as she moved the knife slowly down to Gajeel's sleeveless shirt. "Oh centaur… you really don't remember… do you?" She said just quiet enough so only he could hear.

The black centaur snarled. "What the hell are you spewing on about?! Remember what?!"

The princess stood up on her tippy toes to whisper into the creatures' ear. "Did you ever find it interesting… how Mavis suddenly became so ill after the great battle against Hades? Sure it took a while… but months after that… her health declined so badly, it brought her to her end. Now… I wonder why that was, don't you?"

Gajeel tensed his muscles in his binds. "How… did you know that she—"

"The very man who went against the centaurs in the first place after the Great War with Hades… was the one who made her ill… his hopes were to get that beating heart in your chest for himself…"

Gajeel breathed in sharply as Hisui pushed the knife into his shirt, putting sharp pressure over his skin. "What?! You mean to tell me—"

The green haired woman giggled just before she spoke, her large green eyes quickly shifting to black with white pupils for a split second before returning to green. "Yes! Ivan was the one who started the downward spiral between your kind and ours. He wanted what our master has wanted for so long… immortality and unlimited magic power!"

"Well I hate to break it to ya, but I don't have that fairy heart you're talkin' about. Like I said before, Mavis didn't give me nothin'." Gajeel said quickly. It was true he knew nothing of Mavis giving him anything throughout the years he had known her. Hell, he barely spoke with her! He was too often doing things on his own or with Lily. He didn't really care for the human interactions she was holding at Fairy Tail or in the small towns nearby. He didn't see the value in humans until he met Arthur. That man had showed him kindness, and the true nature of what human beings could be. When the centaur was first told to go help the man, he protested, claiming it was a waste of his time. Mavis was often persistent and eventually persuaded the large creature to go help the man just once. One time, one day, and then he was to return to Fairy Tail.

The centaur thought back on how he hated the thought of just being around humans for one day, but after spending just one full day with that man… it was enough to convince him that maybe humans weren't that bad. He found the man interesting to talk to, to work with. He respected the land and all life that came across it. There was something else in that man's eyes that made Gajeel change his attitude so quickly, but he simply couldn't put it into words. His mind played back the images of him, his satyr, and the once young man sitting outside around a small fire pit, drinking ale and swapping stories and tales, forming a bond like none other.

Crimson orbs glanced past the princess to the humans now surrounding him. They were curious, bloodthirsty, and even deranged looking. His eyes went back to the false princess with a knife to his chest. "Looks to me like you all just want to kill me and have some fun at my expense."

Hisui grinned as she took back the knife slowly. "You will see… you are the chosen one. The one Ivan has told master about."

"What I don't get is how could she know about Ivan? He died years after Mavis did. She would have to be using some form of magic to keep herself this young." Gajeel's eyes quickly glared at the green haired woman, his mind was putting the pieces together after his own words left his mouth. "So this is what's it's all about, isn't it? You could care less about these people, you just want immortality for your master." A smirk came over his lips as he spoke. "Well then you guys are screwed caz I don't have anything that can keep her going forever."

The princess brought the blade of the knife to her other hand as she tilted her head slightly. "You don't remember dying during the Great War, it seems. What a shame." A smile came over Hisui's lips. "Because I know for a fact, Master Angel would love for you to remember what this feels like!" The princess moved quickly as her hand gripped the handle of the knife and thrust it forward into the centaurs' gut. Gajeel yelled out in pain as he felt the blade slide into his body. The impact of her fist thrusting into his gut, the intense tingle that came shortly after, and the unbearable heat. The centaur could feel it all.

Gajeel winced as he could feel her moving the blade ever so slightly, tilting it sideways, and stretching his newly formed wound further. He looked down slowly, he could tell from just his shirt alone that he was going to lose a lot of blood the moment that knife came out. He could hear the giggles from the princess as he watched her twist the knife the other way in his gut. Gajeel grunted as his eyes shot back up quickly.

"Don't worry… this knife didn't go deep enough to kill you quickly. You are going to be feeling this pain for a long time, centaur… we have a lot of guests here tonight who would like a chance to… well… have a bit of fun before we get what we want." Hisui said at a whispered tone.

The black centaur gritted his teeth as he felt the sharp knife leaving his body slowly, its edged blade once again sending his sensitive nerves through loops with intense tingles and insufferable heat. Gajeel winced as he watched the princess hold up the now bloodied knife, bringing the blade close to her mouth as she smiled. He watched her stick out her tongue and lick the warm liquid off.

"You're sick… a twisted, sick puppet…" Gajeel spat.

"And you are just a vessel that has served its purpose." The princess responded quickly. The green haired woman turned and held up the stained knife in her hand. "Who else would like to have some amusement with this creature?!"

* * *

Levy walked down the hall slowly, keeping a watchful eye out for any sign of Lisanna. '_Where is she? I feel like she should have been here by now… maybe she's just running a little late?'_ The blue haired girl clutched the strap to her red bag tightly, worry starting to sink into her whole body_. 'Maybe I shouldn't be doing this… what if she decided to not go through with this plan? No… there's no way she would have backed out now. not when she was this close to freedom._' Hazel eyes widened as she saw two guards walking towards her now. '_Two guards, just like Lisanna said… they are probably going to make a switch with the ones in the cells…' _Levy swallowed the lump her in her throat as she made her way up to them quickly. "U-um… hello."

The men stopped just before the girl, eyeing her without suspicion. "Levy… is something wrong?" One of them said calmly.

Levy quickly waved a hand, dismissing his concern. "Oh, yes, everything is fine. I was just on my way to Mystogan to ask him a few questions about some plants I gathered earlier."

"I see. Well then, we will leave you to it then." The soldier said as he stepped forward to walk past her and to the cells.

Levy quickly reached out and put her hand on the guards arm. "Um, actually, I'm also supposed to let you know that the princess would like for you two to go to the great hall with the other guards. She said she wants extra eyes looking out in case we have another intruder inside the castle."

The guard looked to the hand holding him in place, then back up to hazel eyes. "She has requested us to be there? We were told something different from the general himself."

The blue haired girl took back her hand and smiled. "I know, but I just came from seeing her and the princess sounded very worried. We really count on all of you to watch over us in this castle."

The man looked at his partner for a minute before returning his gaze back to Levy. "You're absolutely sure the princess told you to have us come to the great hall?"

Levy nodded with her smile. "Yes, and I was also supposed to let the guards in the cells know as well that they were to head there too. The princess didn't think the prisoners needed to be watched since they haven't eaten in days, they shouldn't have any energy to try to escape while the guards are away."

The soldier nodded. "Well if that's what the princess said, then I guess we have no choice other than to follow her command."

Levy waited until the two men were out of sight before turning down the hallway to the cells, making her way down there quickly. The girl could feel her heart beating hard and fast in her chest, her nerves trying to take over her. Levy shook her head quickly as she raced down the stairs. '_Stop it, don't start getting nervous now! They'll see right through you. Lisanna might already be down here and if I'm lucky, she'll already have told the guards to leave for the party.'_

As Levy reached the end of the stairs, her body froze as she saw a single guard standing near the cell doors. The blue haired girl took a deep breath and walked over to the single guard with his back to her. Levy brought her hand up to her mouth, coughing into it lightly. "Excuse me, but the princess has requested—"

The man turned quickly, his expression was full of shock to see Levy down in the cells. "I-uh-I was just… um… checking on… the uh…"

Levy's eyebrows lowered as she watched the man speak nervously. "Do I… do I know you?"

Henry looked around nervously, trying to come up with something to say. "Well… I, um…"

Levy's eyes widened as she pointed a finger. "Hey! You're that man I saved from…" The blue haired girl thought back to the first time she laid eyes on Gajeel and how brutally vicious he was when he attacked the guards in the woods, and how he almost went after the man standing in front of her. Her focus went back to the guard. "Anyway… I'm here to let you know that the princess has requested more guards stationed in the great hall for the party tonight. She said the prisoners would be fine unattended."

Henry looked back to the cells quickly before looking at Levy nervously. "I um… I can't… leave… right now."

"But I have direct order from the princess…" Levy said a bit more sternly.

"I… I know… but… I can't leave…" Henry said as he took a step back.

'_This guys is dead set on staying here… I can't get everyone out if he doesn't leave! What can I do to get him out of here?!'_ Levy thought as her mind raced, trying to come up with something to convince this guard to leave the cells.

"Levy?!"

Both Levy and Henry looked back at the cells, both of their eyes widening. "Lisanna!" Levy rushed past Henry and gripped the bars tightly. "What are you doing in here?!"

The white haired girl cast her eyes downward. "It's… complicated."

Levy looked back to Henry who still looked quite nervous standing by. The small girl turned her attention back to Lisanna, whispering softly. "Was it him? Did he put you in here?"

Lisanna lifted her head as she shook it. "No! He was actually going to help us out of here!"

Levy snapped her head back to Henry. "You were going to help them out of here?!"

Henry shifted his weight in his boots, his hand coming up behind his head quickly as he rubbed his dark hair. "Well… you see… I, um… I owed one of their friends for saving my life… and I… I told the guards I would watch over the prisoners a while ago, and I was just waiting for the right time to unlock the cells and get them out of here…"

Levy turned back to face Lisanna as the white haired girl spoke. "Natsu and Gajeel were captured and I don't know what has happened to them. Henry told me he saw Natsu but he was in pretty bad shape… he said he hasn't seen Gajeel but he knows he's still in the castle somewhere."

"Gajeel… is still here? I thought he had already gotten out days ago!" Levy said worriedly. Hazel eyes cast down as she spoke softly to herself. "That would explain why I haven't seen you in a few days…" Levy brought her eyes back up, her expression turning into confusion. "So, wait, how is the plan going to work now?"

Henry held up his hand quickly and reached down for a bag near his feet. "I have a few things I took from the armory. They are somethings the princess wanted Mystogan to work on. These are just prototypes, but they still work to an extent."

Levy let go of the bars and moved in closer to Henry to see what all he had. The man pulled out a small metal orb first. "This is full of smoke and all you have to do is throw it down at the ground or something else hard to activate it. It doesn't take much to set it off. You could even step on it if you had to. The smoke can be toxic if you inhale too much of it, so if you use more than one of these, make sure you don't breathe too much of it in." Henry gently put the smoke bomb back in the bag and pulled out a lacrima the size of his hand. "This… this lacrima is still a work in progress so I don't know how much use it'll be."

Levy stared at the lacrima intently. "What does that do?"

"Well… I was to help gather energy from lightning storms, but the downside with these is that they can't hold that much power just yet. And when they get too full… they sort of… explode… so they can be dangerous if used too much."

Levy looked up into Henrys brown eyes. "Why would you have these then if they are still a work in progress?"

"Well, I figured they could help with the general… if anything should go wrong, he would most likely be the first one to go after the prisoners… and you and I both know that his lightning attacks are quite powerful. Using these lacrimas might give anyone a fighting chance to get away from him unscathed." Levy nodded as Henry put the lacrima back in his bag, and pulled out another small orb. "And this… this is for the dogs. Just pour a little bit onto the ground and once they get a sniff of this, it'll throw off any scent they've got and they won't be able to track."

"Ok so, how are we all going to get out of here then?" Levy said quickly. "And we can't just leave the other two in here! We have to get them too!"

Lisanna was next to speak. "Henry is going to let all of us out of here, and then he's going for Natsu since he is the only one who knows where he is. And he has reason to believe that Gajeel is being held somewhere in the princesses private chambers… are you ok to look for him yourself Levy?"

"I mean, of course… it would be pretty easy for me to get around the castle without suspicion. But… if he's injured… how am I going to get him out of here?! He's so big and there's no way I could be able to carry him!" Levy said with concern.

All three looked back behind the cold bars of the cells as a deep voice suddenly spoke. "I'll go with her to help out with Gajeel." Levy noticed a satyr with black hair, dark colored horns and ears to match. His red eyes looked up to Levy with determination. "I will help you find him. And if he is injured…" The satyr lifted up his arm out of the bars. "Then this is going to have to come off so I can transform."

Lisanna looked to her own wrist. "We all will have to get these off. We can run faster in our true forms."

"Do you think you all can get out of here quick enough if we take those bracelets off?" Levy asked.

Lisanna looked down to Lily worriedly. "Well… Macao isn't doing so well… but Wakaba assured us that he can help him get out. Warren, Laki, Alzack and Carla are fine and ready to go. If we can just get out of these cells and the bracelets off, we can get out of here in no time."

Levy turned to Henry. "Ok, you help them get out, find Natsu, and I'll go with… um…"

"It's Lily." The satyr said with a grin. "And we shall go find Gajeel and then get the hell out of here."

Levy nodded her head. "That sounds like a plan." She turned to Henry and pointed at the bag in his hands. "Would it be ok if we take a few of those items? Seeing how we all are going to be splitting up."

Henry handed her the bag quickly. "Of course. Please take what you need."

The blue haired girl filled her red bag with a few of the items Henry had shown them. She set his pack down on the ground beside her once she was sure she had packed enough into her own bag. Meanwhile, Henry had unlocked the gate to the cell door and opened it wide. Lisanna looked down to Lily as she spoke. "I'll go help Wakaba get Macao up and moving and let the others know this is happening now, go with Levy to find Gajeel. We'll meet back up at Fairy Tail. I think it'll be too dangerous to meet in the woods before then."

Lily nodded and quickly made his way to Levy's side. "Before we leave, can you?" The satyr held up his small hand to the blue haired girl. Levy looked to the bracelet and reached down to remove it. Unlike Lisannas transformation, there wasn't a bright light or anything like that. The blue haired girl tossed the bracelet aside and went with Lily back up the stairs in search of Gajeel. She thought to herself as her hazel eyes watched the small satyr walk quickly alongside her.

'_How can something so small help me get a being like Gajeel out of here if he's hurt?! He's got to have something else up his sleeve… because there's no way something so small can help me get someone so big out of this place!'_

* * *

Gajeel grunted as he felt the woman in front of him slide the blade across his bare chest. He watched her smile grow wide as she watched his warm blood trickle from the fresh cut made into his skin.

"Ah! Oh my! This is so arousing! Sliding this knife into your flesh… watching your expressions of pain—Ah! So electrifying! I love it!"

Gajeel winced as the woman slid the knife across his skin just below the first cut she made. "You're sick… and mad… the whole lot of you."

Hisui took the knife from the woman and spoke. "Tsk, tsk, tsk… now, now Black Steel… that's no way to speak to my guests." The green haired woman looked over the centaur. His torso was covered in blood, trickling from each cut that was made. Some of the men even went as far as to cut into his centaur body, and across his back. The princess looked past Gajeel to his long dark hair and black tail. A smirk came across her lips as she walked beside the centaur. She looked to the guards holding Gajeel in place with the ropes. "Hold him steady." The green haired woman looked back to Gajeel's black mane, running her hand down it slowly. Her hand stopped halfway and gripped a chunk of his hair tightly, pulling his head back further.

Gajeel growled as the princess pulled his head back. "I'm definitely going to kill you first if you cut any length of my hair!"

Hisui laughed as she held the knife against his dark hair. "And how exactly are you planning on doing that, centaur?! You can't do anything to stop me now! Besides…" Hisui quickly moved the blade in her hand, cutting off half of Gajeel's black mane and tossing the strands of hair out to the crowd surrounding her. "You aren't going to be alive much longer, so what does it matter what I do?!"

Gajeel glared at the guests as the close ones jumped at the strands, reaching their hands out to grab what they could. The once scared and confused nobles now looked like they were crazed, wanting any bit from the centaur, bathing in their own enjoyment of watching him be tortured. Crimson orbs glanced back as far as they could as he felt a hand graze over his centaur body towards his rump. He felt Hisui's hand run down his tail. He moved his dark tail back and forth as if her hand was a fly, trying to keep her hand from grabbing it as well.

"Oh please, centaur. You aren't going to get away from this as well." The princess grabbed Gajeel's tail roughly, pulling it straight up and causing the centaur to groan in slight pain. He wasn't used to someone grabbing his tail, let alone pull it straight up so fast. It wasn't major pain, just enough to annoy him. A second later, he felt the sharp blade cut through his coarse strands. He could feel that she had cut his long bristles just below the dock of his tail. Hisui came back to the front of the centaur, twirling his cut hairs around in her hand. "You know… I think I might keep this tail for myself… it was quite beautiful on you…"

The black centaur growled loudly as he tensed every muscle in his body. He had enough of all of this. He had enough of the crazed guests who had cut into him, this false princess who was determined to break the centaur down before she killed him, and fed up with being helpless in this situation. He gathered up all his might and pulled one of his arms forward, sending the guards holding it flying. The people around him screamed and started to run in panic as the centaur grabbed the ropes around his neck with his free hand. "I'm getting out of here, right now!" The centaur yanked away the restraints around his neck, his attention going to the last set of guards holding his other arm captive.

Gajeel stopped his movements as his eyes widened. He looked forward and down quickly. He saw the knife the princess had plunged into his chest. Within seconds, he felt the same pain, tingles and heat he felt in his gut the first time she had stabbed him. This time, it was in his chest. His distraction allowed the guards enough time to secure the centaur in place with even more ropes.

"You are not cooperating very well, centaur." Hisui said coldly. She looked to the men holding him with the ropes. "Make sure you hold him in place! I don't want to cut the heart beating inside of him!" The men nodded as the princess looked back to the knife plunged into Gajeel's chest. "Playtime… is over… now we shall take that lovely heart… and you will die."

Gajeel cried out as the princess carved into his skin, slowly moving the blade downward on his chest. Her hand was not making this cut smoothly as she forced the knife down. Each inch she made, made the centaur want to cry out more. The unbearable amount of pain he was feeling, the heat, the feeling of his own warm blood falling from his newly made wound, all of this was driving him insane.

'_I don't know if I'm going to be able to get out of this one… I'm starting to lose consciousness… I've lost too much blood and now… now she's cutting into my chest! Forgive me… Lily….'_ The centaur thought to himself as his vision was starting to fade and his body was becoming cold. He closed his eyes as he clenched his jaw tightly. His eyebrows crossed as he held in another cry. The princess watched him carefully.

"Are you trying to hold it all in, centaur?" She asked softly.

Gajeel looked into her green eyes, his red orbs burning into hers. "I'm not… going to give you the satisfaction… of hearing me cry out in pain!"

"Oh… I think I can change that." She said as she quickly forced the blade sideways, causing the centaur to cry out loudly. "Yes! That's it! Cry out! Cry out in pain!" Her head looked over her shoulder to the people who came back after Gajeel had been secured. "The time has come to carve out the one thing we want most!" The centaur couldn't help it, he couldn't hold it all in as the sharp knife ripped through his flesh. His mouth opened wide as his cry echoed through the great hall. His cries falling on the ears of those who couldn't care less about the creature being tortured. Their only concern, was the beating muscular organ in his chest and what was going to be promised to them.

* * *

**AN: and with that I leave another cliffy ;) sorry everyone! I was going to continue more with what was going to happen next, but a cliffhanger sounded more fun!  
**

**I want to also thank EVERYONE for reading, faving, following, and reviewing this story! I honestly did not plan on having all of this happen so late into the story, I mean, its not super late, but I didn't plan on having other stuff happen when I first came up with this story. I swear I just come up with more ideas each day. Sometimes it's the only thing that can get me through the work day lol but I'm also glad that I am adding all of the things in here, because most of the things can tie into the later chapters… not to mention its so much fun to write! **

**I hope you all still enjoyed this chapter, I know it doesn't look so good for Gajeel at the moment… I read over it quickly and I hope I caught everything, I'm sure I missed something as usual, but I will eventually reread over the chapter and fix it. so sorry if there are any mistakes!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: chapter 13**

**OMG so… I couldn't help myself. I busted out this chapter in a day! I told myself this morning that I was only going to maybe get like… a 1/4 or maybe half of it done, but then my brain was like, hey! You're on a roll! Keep going damn it! so I did! :) I was too excited to not write this chapter lol so I hope you all enjoy it!**

**I read over the chapter and hopefully caught all of the mistakes! If I missed any, I'm sorry! Literally have worked on this from 8am-5pm! XD eyes are tired!**

**Nyma: haha I'm so sorry Nyma! I promise this chapter will make up for it ;) and I don't think I left it on too much of a cliffy.**

**kurahieiritr JIO: and what a mess that last chapter was! Oh man… this one should not disappoint as well. :)**

* * *

Levy ran through the hallways of the large castle, surprised that the satyr was keeping up with her. Even though she was running out of breath, the blue haired girl pushed herself to keep going. She had to find Gajeel and help him out of here. The plan had changed completely and now it was a race against time. They had to find the large centaur and get him out of here before anyone noticed. Levy pointed up ahead of the two figures running. "Up those stairs is where the princess's chambers are! If she's keeping him hidden somewhere out of sight, I'll bet anything he's in there!"

Lily nodded as he ran with Levy. "My only question is why she had him separated from the rest of the centaurs in the cells. Same as Natsu… it doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, well, right now let's just focus on finding him! The party is going to be ending soon, and I'm sure those guards I told to head to the great hall are going to figure out soon that what I said was a lie." Levy said as she ran past the great halls closed doors.

A loud cry caused the two to stop in their place, their eyes widening as they looked to each other. "Was that—" Lily started to say. Before he could finish his sentence, another cry was heard from the same room they had just passed. Both Levy and Lily rushed back to the door to the great hall, cracking it open slightly to peek inside. Horror came over them both as they watched the crowded room, all eyes looking up to the platform with Gajeel and the princess standing on top of it. Levy instinctively brought her hand over her mouth as she gasped, watching the green haired princess rip through Gajeel's tanned skin as he cried out in pain. She watched as red blood fell from all over his body. He was fighting a losing battle, and he needed help.

The blue haired girl plunged her hand into her red bag quickly a moment later. Her hand covering her mouth pushed the large door open the rest of the way. Without thinking, she threw down multiple smoke bombs onto the ground. Before any heads could turn and see what was going on, the room filled with smoke. Hisui turned her body just as the smoke reached the platform she stood upon.

"What's the meaning of this?!" She barked loudly, just before she began to cough roughly along with everyone else in the room.

Laxus pulled a piece of cloth from his side and wrapped it around his mouth. "Get the princess out of here! It's another attack from the centaurs!" All the soldiers could do was cough, their hands letting go of the ropes holding Gajeel in place as they reached for their mouths. Everyone in the room was breathing in the toxic air, unable to escape it. The general growled as he looked to the men behind him. "Get her out of here! Now! I'll deal with the pests!" He said loudly as he walked through the smoked out room. "And help the guests get out of here as well!"

Levy winced as she held her hand over her mouth and nose, trying to see through the thick clouds of smoke that stung her eyes, in search of Gajeel. She felt a small hand grip her wrist, looking down, she saw that Lily was once again at her side. She spoke through her hand, trying her best not to breathe too much of the smoke in. "We have to hurry! It won't be long until the smoke clears!"

"He's just ahead, on the platform. Even in this heavy smoke, I can see him." Lily said quickly. The two reached the platform where Hisui once stood before being dragged away by the guards, and where the centaur was still standing. He was barely clinging to life as the blood formed a pool around his hooves. His large legs wobbled as he began to lose all consciousness until they gave way under the exhausted body. Just before Gajeel hit the ground, Lily had transformed right before Levy's eyes. The small satyr was now gigantic compared to the small girl beside him. His body had completely grown in size and muscle. His horns, ears, and tail had also grown along with the satyr, matching his new size proportionally. His large arms reached out and caught the falling centaur before he could reach the ground. Lily's large head turned to Levy quickly. "Get his shirt! We can use it to put pressure on his chest!"

Levy quickly moved past the satyr to retrieve the dark shirt that was cast aside when all of this started. She reached down to pick up the fabric when a sword suddenly appeared before her face. Hazel eyes widened as her head looked up the cold steel slowly, looking up to the general who was glaring back at the small girl.

"I never would have expected you to be siding with these things!" Laxus said with disgust. "You have betrayed your princess!"

Levy slowly stood with the shirt in her free hand. "And you make me sick. You disgrace the race of men by torturing this living thing!"

Laxus quickly snapped back at the girl. "You don't know what you're talking about, Levy! And if you wish to still live, you best leave now. I know the princess enjoys keeping you around as her little pet, but I find it pointless! You will leave a terrible taste in my mouth if you go against us!"

Levy glared back at the general in anger. "From what I've just seen, it will be you and the princess who leaves the terrible taste in someone's mouth, general! Stooping so low to just get back at this innocent—"

Laxus quickly raised his sword, cutting the girl off. "THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF YOU! IT IS CLEAR WHICH SIDE YOU HAVE CHOSEN!"

Levy watched as Laxus brought his sword down at her quickly. She waited for the last possible second before ducking down and rolling out of the way, the cold blade missing her by mere inches. She secretly thanked herself for being so small that the sword missed her as she moved out of the way. The blue haired girl looked up quickly after she rolled, the general was gathering up his sword once more to swing at her again. Hazel eye looked past him, eyeing that the smoke was starting to clear. '_Damn it! I thought the smoke was going to last a bit longer! I guess as soon as the doors opened on the other side, it just made one giant vent for the smoke to escape from. I need to do something about the general… he isn't going to let me leave here alive if I'm not careful!'_ Levy's thoughts were cut off quickly as her eyes went back to the sword coming at her from the side now.

She gasped as she moved quickly, dodging the blow by once again rolling out of the way. She could hear the frustrated blonde haired general growl as he quickly threw his sword up into the air.

"WILL YOU JUST HOLD STILL?!" He yelled as he swung again. Another miss. Levy noticed that Laxus had swung so hard at her, that he managed to get his sword stuck in the cold marble of the floor. The girl used this opportunity to get back to Lily with Gajeel's shirt. The blue haired girl quickly brought the shirt up to the centaurs' chest, putting pressure on it as hard as she could.

"Can you carry him like this?" Levy asked quickly as she glanced back at the general who was still attempting to free his sword from the ground. "We don't have much time."

Lily spoke just as quickly. "I could, but it would be easier if he was in his human form. If we can make him human, it might slow the bleeding from his centaur body and just bleed out from his torso. That and he would be much lighter to carry, I could move faster. This form doesn't last long so we need to get our hands on a bracelet the princess used on me."

As Lily removed the slack ropes from Gajeel's body, Levy looked around frantically. "Maybe I have time to get out and back down to the cells to get one of those bracelets… the guards are too busy with the guests and princess that I might have a chance to get back down there without being seen… but then again… does he have that kind of time?!" Hazel eyes went wide as almost all of the smoke had cleared and just a few feet away from where Laxus once stood, laid a bracelet on the ground. "There's one! Here, hold this in place!" The blue haired girl said as she pushed off the ground, making a run for the bracelet.

"Levy! Wait!" Lily started to shout.

The blue haired girl reached out for the leather bracelet when her eyes suddenly widened as her heart skipped a beat. Her movements stopped as she clenched her chest. '_Oh no… did I inhale too much smoke when I tossed those bombs down?!'_ Levy shook her head quickly to get her nerves back. '_Just don't think about that! Get the bracelet! It's right in front of you! When we all get out of here, then you can worry about passing out! Right now… I have more important things to worry about!'_ The girl forced her hand down and picked up the leather piece. She could feel her chest tightening painfully, her breaths becoming heavy. '_This isn't good! But I'm not going to let anyone die here today! We are going to get out of this hell hole!'_ Levy thought to herself as she gritted her teeth, determination and her adrenaline still pushing her forward.

The general growled loudly as he cursed his own strength for getting his sword suck in the floor. "That's it!" He shouted loudly as he turned his whole body to the three on the platform now. He watched as Levy gently put the leather bracelet over Gajeel's wrist, and with a flash of light, made him human once more. Laxus clenched his fists and tensed every muscle in his body, summing up all of his magic energy. "You are not getting out of here alive!"

Levy stumbled slightly as she took a step forward, her hand coming up to her head as she closed her eyes lightly. Lily picked up the naked man into his arms as he looked at Levy questionably. "Are you alright?"

"Yes… I'll be ok… let's just get out of here." She said as she opened her eyes. Her foot took one more step when a clash of lightning stopped her in her path. Both she and Lily whipped their heads towards the enraged general. Levy saw Laxus had lost all of his sanity due to frustration. His eyes had gone completely white as his muscles grew along with his magic power. Hazel eyes grew wide as she reached into her red bag. "He's going to send out a much larger attack then the last one! Get Gajeel out of here now!"

Lily hesitated as he watched Levy pull out one of the lacrimas Henry showed them. "Are you mad?! You can't use that with him!"

"Look this is our only chance of getting away from Laxus! I'll make sure to send this thing flying before it explodes on me." The blue haired girl turned to look at Lily with a soft smile. "I'll be alright. I'll catch up with you guys after I toss this thing. My guess is that Laxus doesn't realize what I have just yet so I can use this to our advantage."

Lily waited another second before nodding his head. He made his way past the small girl and paused, turning around to look at her once more. "I will wait for you just outside the castle. I'm not leaving behind someone who has helped up this much."

Levy kept her smile over her lips until Lily had turned around and left the room quickly. Her smile faded as she looked back to Laxus who seemed to lose his mind completely. He was letting sparks fly uncontrollably all over the place in the great hall from where he was standing, not caring what they were hitting, or what they were breaking. He only had one thing in his eyes. Determination. Determination to not let her live.

'_If I don't make it out of here alive…'_ Levy thought to herself as she held up the lacrima in front of her as she watched Laxus release his first wave of lightning at her. '_Then at least I went down fighting!'_

* * *

Lisanna skidded to a halt, sending up a cloud of dust from her hooves as she looked back at Macao and Wakaba. "Come on guys! We are almost out of range of the castle! We need to keep moving!"

Wakaba set the centaur he was helping down, concern over his face as he looked down at his tired friend. "She's right you know. We have to keep moving."

Macao smiled weakly as he put a hand up to the caramel colored centaur. "You guys go on ahead. I don't… I don't think I'm going to make it back to Fairy Tail this time." The dark purple centaur looked around at his tired comrades. "You all have someone back there waiting for you… there's no point in getting killed over an old centaur like me, so just leave me here and get back to your loved ones."

Wakaba smacked away Macao's hand and leaned down to grip his dark shirt. "And what about you?! You have Romeo, don't you?! You just want to leave your son fatherless?! Because I'm not going to let that happen! That boy hasn't seen you in years and by god, I am not leaving my friend here now! Not when we finally got out of that hellish place! You need to find the strength deep inside of you and get up off your ass! Because that boy is waiting for his dad to come back home!"

The dark purple centaur hung his head down slightly, shading his eyes. "I just… I don't want to slow you all down any more than I already am… once those dogs come chasing after us… it'll be the end for whoever is with me… I've got a bum leg which makes me the weakest out of all of you right now. Finding the strength to go on… seems almost impossible at this point…"

The caramel centaur shook Macao roughly as he pulled his torso up closer to his own. "Then I suggest you dig deep! Because you're going to make it! I don't care if I have to drag you the rest of the way, you're not going to die here!" Wakaba looked to Lisanna and the others. "You get everyone else to Fairy Tail, I'm going to bring him back myself."

Lisanna shook her head in disagreement. "No! We're not leaving you two behind like this! If we're all going back, it's going to be all of us together!"

Alzack walked back to Macao and stretched out his hand to the older centaur. "Come on. I'll help you too. We do this as a team."

Macao could feel his warm tears beginning to form in his eyes as he felt the strength from his friends. His head fell down once more as he let the tears roll down his cheeks. "If I cannot muster the strength on my own, then I shall look to my friends and family. They will give me the strength and courage I need. Heh… do you remember Mavis saying that all the time?"

Wakaba smiled as he loosened his grip on his oldest friend. "I sure do, pal. Now come on. Let's get you back to that son of yours. Let's get you home." The caramel centaur wrapped one of Macao's arms back around his shoulders as Alzack took the other arm.

"You all are fools…" Macao said with a smile as he hobbled in the middle of the two other centaurs.

Alzack laughed lightly as they walked at whatever speed Macao could manage. "Better to be fools who work together than fools who work alone."

Macao glanced over to the dark brown centaur. "I'm surprised you aren't the first one rushing to Fairy Tail… don't you have a little girl there who hasn't met her father yet?"

Alzack smiled as he looked ahead. "Yeah… and I can't wait to meet her when we get back. But if for some reason we don't… Bisca knows to tell her many amazing stories about her father." The dark brown centaur looked to Macao with his smile, his voice free of uncertainty. "But I know we are going to make it so when we do get there, I will finally see my little girl for the first time and I will be able to tell her all of my adventures with her mother for myself. Bisca was a month away from giving birth to her when we got captured… I wish I was there with her when it happened." The centaurs smile faded as he thought back all those years ago when they were captured. "I know she's a strong mare, and could handle anything by herself… but I still feel so sorry."

The small white haired, horned, and tailed satyr spoke up quickly as she listened into the centaurs beside her speak about the past. "Will you two quit dwelling on what happened long ago?! We are going to make it back just fine. The whole fiasco in the castle has distracted almost every single guard in that place that they didn't even realize that we left! We have nothing to worry about right now. Just keep your minds on what's ahead."

Wakaba raised a brow as he spoke. "Did you see us getting back to Fairy Tail safely with one of your premonitions, Carla?"

The satyr looked back ahead, concern coming over her. "Yes, but as for Gajeel and Natsu… I cannot see them with us… my power isn't coming back to me fully just yet. I only caught a glimpse of us reaching Fairy Tail, so I know for a fact that we all will be fine. I can only hope that the others will be right behind us."

* * *

Levy shouted as she was sent flying backwards from the lacrimas explosion, hitting the cold ground hard. The blue haired girl pushed herself up from the floor wearily. She watched as Laxus was making his way to her, completely unscathed by every lacrima she sent flying to him. '_Damn it… that last one was really close… I almost didn't have enough time to throw the lacrima away from me! His attacks are only getting stronger and I'm down to my last lacrima!_' Hazel eyes glared up to the general as he stopped just before her.

"You are just like them… I don't even see why the princess took you in all those years ago… you don't belong in this castle…" The lightning mage lifted up his hand as he readied another attack to send directly at Levy. "Nor do you belong in this world." The blue haired girl watched as Laxus pulled back his arm just before he thrust it forward at her, sending his attack directly at her.

Levy reacted quickly with the last lacrima she had in her bag, thrusting it forward with one hand and using it to absorb the attack. She winced as the bright light from the lightning was burning her eyes, the heat burning her skin slightly. _'This is attack is super close to me! If I can't get rid of this lacrima… I'm sure as hell going to get hit with the blast! That is if his lightning doesn't get me first!' _She thought as sparks flew past the growing orb and around her body. Levy suddenly felt a sharp sting above her right eyebrow as one of the sparks hit her. "Ah!" She said quickly as her right eye shut instinctively. She could already feel the warm trickle of blood coming down the side of her face. The small girl on the ground was fighting for her life as Laxus forced his arm closer to the lacrima, sending out more sparks and bits of lightning in every direction. Levy looked through one opened eye that the lacrima was filling quickly, its color changing, indicating that it was getting too full. "You have to stop this Laxus! You're going to kill us both!"

The blonde haired general continued his ferocious attack. "Like I give a damn! I know I can survive an attack like this! You on the other hand, cannot! So I'm not going to stop until you are dead, traitor!"

The lacrima in Levy's hand was starting to burn her skin on top of the heat of the lightning. Hazel eyes shut tightly as she felt her arm wavering. She was still trying to muster up any strength she had left to toss the lacrima aside and get away quick enough to escape the lightning attack that would quickly follow. '_There's just no way I can get out of this one! Either way, I'm going to—'_

The blue haired girl heard a loud roar coming from behind her, causing her to open her eyes and see a large hoof forcing the lacrima out of her hand and right into the generals' chest. The large beast that suddenly appeared forced Laxus back a great distance away as the lacrima began to light up just before its explosion. She felt a hand reach down for her own, helping her up onto her feet.

"Come on! Before that thing goes off, let's get the hell out of here!" Lily said loudly as he pulled Levy along by her hand.

He didn't have to tell the girl twice, for her legs were already starting to run as soon as she got back on her feet. She could hear Laxus behind her yell out just before a bright light went off once again in the great hall. The lacrima was going off due to too much magical power it had taken in.

Just as Lily reached the door, he heard the small girl grunt behind him. Red eyes looked back as they ran down the hall to the castles front doors. "Are you ok?!"

Levy responded quickly. "I'm fine, but where's Gajeel?!"

Red eyes went back to looking in front of the large satyr, eyeing the small group of guards that were blocking the doors to the entrance of the castle. "I got him outside and decided to come back for you. But now I've gotta take care of these pests before we can get out." The satyr quickly picked the girl up by her hand and threw her up onto his back. "Hold on tight!" Levy did as she was told as she wrapped her arms around his large neck, shutting her eyes tightly as she felt Lily pick up speed towards the guards standing in their way. She felt the impact of Lily pushing past the guards moments later, using his larger horns and large arms to break through their small force.

The satyr ran out the door he had left open and quickly took a sharp left turn. Levy opened her eyes as Lily ran. Even with her vision fading in and out, she could still make out a large naked figure laying down on the ground nearby. "Is he… going to be ok?" She asked as Lily carefully scooped up Gajeel into his arms, his hooves quickly pushing back off the ground to flee from the castle.

"He's still breathing so I'm hoping we got to him quick enough. We just need to make it to her house before my transformation ends!" Lily said in frustration. He knew he had already used up half of his transformation magic so far, and it wasn't going to be long before he had to revert back to his smaller form.

"Her house?" Levy asked weakly.

"Henry's wife. He said she lived far away enough from the castle that no one would dare look for us there. He told us that if we had to, we should go there. And right now, I'd say we have to! He told me she can help us… she isn't a magic user, but she knows her way around any wound you can think of."

Levy nodded her head slowly as she tightened her grip around the satyrs' neck, clinging to consciousness. "I hope… everyone else got out ok…"

Lily grinned as he ran. "Don't you worry about everyone else. We're from Fairy Tail. We're one of the hardest bunch of creatures to take down and we're stubborn as hell. We don't give up so easily, and from what I can tell, neither do you."

Lily's words brought a slight smile to Levy's lips. Never in her life did she think she would be in this kind of situation. Fleeing from the castle for her life on the back of some mythical creature, all while trying to save a race she barely knew anything about. One thing was for sure, part of her was glad to be free of that dreadful place. She never knew the princess was truly like that, or how blinded the general really was. It was as if everyone in that place was corrupted. But what is she going to do now? Now that she was out of there… she can never go back. Laxus saw her fighting alongside with Lily, helping him free Gajeel from certain death. He will be sure to inform the princess of this. Will she be hunted just like the rest of the centaurs? What happens if they ever find her? It was almost too much for the blue haired girl to think about right now. All she wanted to do was make it to a safe place. Somewhere where she can relax and have a moment to think about what she is going to do next. Levy's mind went blank as her thoughts subsided for a short time.

* * *

A small boy pulled at a toy his sister had in her hands. "Come on Nana! Just, give, me, the, toy!" He said angrily.

The small brown haired girl pulled the toy back to her side as she spoke to her brother. "No, Nobu! It's mine and mommy said I get to play with it today!"

The identical brown haired boy growled as he pulled with all his might. "You got to play with it yesterday! If you don't give it to me I'm going to tell on you!" Nobu suddenly fell backwards as his sister let go of the toy they were fighting over. He sat up quickly and held the small handmade toy in his hand. "Ha! I win!" His small eyebrows crossed as he looked at his frightened sister. "Nana? What is it? Why do you look so scared?" The boys blue eyes looked in the direction his sister was looking. Blue eyes went wide as he stood quickly at the sight in front of them.

Lily panted heavily as he held Gajeel in his arms and Levy on his back. His voice sounded ragged as he spoke out of breath. "Please… help… us…."

The young boy and girl screamed in unison as they ran inside of their house, yelling for their mother. Lily let out a breath as he fell to one knee. Levy let go of the satyr and went to his side, her hands on either side of his shoulder. "Are you ok?" She asked softly.

Lily smiled slightly as he looked to Levy. "I'll be fine… but my transformation is about up. We need to get him inside before that happens." Levy nodded in agreement because there was going to be no way of getting Gajeel's large form into the house let alone a bed for him to lay on once inside.

A minute later, a woman appeared at the front door, eyeing Lily and Levy suspiciously. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She asked quickly. Levy was first to speak.

"Please, Henry said you could help us. Our friend is severely injured and is going to die if you do not help him. We are from the castle, well, I am… technically…" Levy shook her head and looked at the pregnant woman standing in front of the doorway with pleading eyes. "Please… don't let him die… I'm begging you… I will tell you everything once I know he is ok."

The woman looked at the three of them, her mind made up quickly. "Alright, bring him inside, quickly. If you say you know Henry, then you must be a friend of his. He wouldn't tell just anyone about me and our home." She said as she motioned them inside.

Levy helped the satyr stand and inside the house quickly before he ran out of magic power. After all that had happened so far to them, it was nice to have someone so helpful not ask questions first. Levy feared if she had to explain everything that went on before they could make it inside, it would have been too late for Gajeel. As they made it inside, the woman pointed down a small hallway, telling them to go down it and to enter into the first door on the left. Levy was surprised that Lily was able to get through the hall despite his large form. The large satyr did as he was told and found the first room on the left, seeing a single empty bed near the window, he quickly made his way to it, setting Gajeel down lightly just before his transformation was up. The dark haired satyr fell onto his rump as he panted heavily from all of the strain he endured.

Levy knelt down and picked him up into her arms. "You gonna be ok?"

Lily smiled weakly at the blue haired girl. "I'll be alright. I just need some rest now."

The girl nodded and set him down on the bed beside Gajeel. Hazel eyes went over the man's face now, getting a good look at him as he laid there unconsciously. Sorrow filled her eyes as she brushed a few strands of broken hair away from his cheeks. Her eyes moved further down to his chest, seeing his dark shirt was already stained fully of his blood from the nasty carved flesh wound he received from the princess. Her eyes scanned the rest of his torso and saw how bloodied and cut up it was from the rest of the monsters slicing him in various places. The sight was almost unbearable for her to keep her gaze on for long.

Hazel eyes slipped a bit further to the rest of Gajeel's form. A blush came over her cheeks quickly as she realized that he was naked. She had completely forgotten about that fact because of everything that had happened to them. She turned her head away and searched for any bit of cloth to cover up his lower half. Levy was relieved to see a blanket folded up nicely nearby. The blue haired girl grabbed it and quickly covered the man's lower half that had been left uncut.

The pregnant woman came into the room quickly with a bowl of water in her hands, a slightly younger girl entered the room right behind her carrying the rest of the materials the woman was going to need to tend to Gajeel's wounds. Levy quickly moved back to the top end of the bed where Gajeel's head was, making sure she wasn't going to be in the way of the woman and who she was assuming was her daughter. "Do you think you can save him?" Levy asked as the woman looked over the man.

The pregnant woman lifted up the stained shirt and cringed. She looked to Levy with concern. "This is going to take a long time for me to stitch up… and I'm not going to guarantee he will survive any of this. His body looks like he has lost a lot of blood already, which isn't a good sign. Not to mention how deep that wound is." The woman shook her head slowly. "Sweetie… I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think this is going to be worth my time trying to save… he's in really bad shape."

Levy put her hand to the woman's as her hazel eyes began to tear up. The light haired woman looked at Levy's tired and worried expression. "Please… you have to try… I would do it myself but it is way beyond what I've been used to dealing with. So I'm begging you… please… save him…"

The woman let out a sigh as she looked back over Gajeel's wounds. "I'll do what I can to help him. But for now, why don't you two go get cleaned up. Haru can show you to the bath—"

"No." Levy said quickly. Her hazel eyes cast down at Gajeel's unconscious expression. "I don't want to leave until I know he's going to make it through all of this."

The woman shrugged her shoulders as she rolled up her long sleeves. "Do what you want, doesn't bother me none. All I was saying was you two look like you've been through the ringer and back."

Levy smiled weakly as her mind replayed all that happened. "Yeah… you can say that." Even though she still felt her chest tighten with each breath she took, the blue haired girl wanted to stay at the man's side. She needed to know that he was going to be ok before she took care of herself. '_What I'm going through right now… is nothing compared to what he had to deal with…. I rushed in to save him without thinking… without thinking about what was going to happen to me… I just did… what I had to do.'_ Levy looked over slightly to the satyr who was still breathing heavily. _'He must have breathed too much of that smoke in too…_' Hazel eyes shut tightly as Levy's thoughts continued. _'I was too foolish and didn't think about what I was doing at the time! But… if I didn't do what I did… would all of us be here right now?_'

"So what's your name, girl?"

Levy's eyes shot open quickly, looking to the pregnant woman already working quickly on Gajeel's most vicious wound. "What? Oh… it's Levy. Levy McGarden."

The woman raised a brow as soon as she heard Levy's name, but continued to speak quickly. "Well Levy, be ready to hold his big guy down… as soon as I put this ointment around that large gash on his chest, he is going to wake up in a whole lot of pain. I need you to secure him in place while Haru gives him a sedative."

Levy nodded her head hesitantly. She wasn't even sure she was going to be able to hold the large man down in place long enough for the younger woman to give him the sedative. Her hands moved to each one of Gajeel's shoulders, her eyes moving back to the woman as she put the ointment she was referring to onto her hands. The one who she referred to as Haru had come around to Levy's side and slid her hand down over Gajeel's face, feeling for his lips with her fingertips.

The pregnant woman looked to them both. "Ok, are you two ready for this?" The two girls nodded and waited with anticipation for the reaction Gajeel was going to have. "Alright… here we go." The older woman brought her hand down to Gajeel's chest, her hand gliding around the open wound lightly, spreading the ointment around the opened area.

The naked man reacted almost immediately, his eyes shot open but were blank in his still unconscious state. He yelled and began to thrash around in the bed. Both Levy and the pregnant woman quickly forced their bodies down on any part that wasn't injured to keep the man held in place. But it was no use. Gajeel was a lot bigger and stronger than the two of them combined.

Haru struggled to keep her finger tips over his lips and the bottle of sedative in her other hand. "Mother, I'm having some trouble here! You have to keep him steady, Levy!"

The blue haired girl was trying with all her might to keep Gajeel's shoulders down on the bed, but with her own self being weakened, it was too much for her. "I'm trying!" Hazel eyes looked up at Haru's face for the first time. Shock came over her as she realized that the young girl who looked about her own age, was blind. Yet she was still trying desperately to help sedate the larger man. Levy looked back down to Gajeel's head, his eyes were still open and white as he growled unknowingly. "Why don't you switch with me."

The pregnant woman quickly responded. "Are you crazy?! If you let go of his shoulders now, there's no telling if we're going to be able to keep him on this bed!"

"Mother!" Haru said quickly. "Levy and I will switch. I'm sure she will have no problems getting the sedative to him."

"Haru she doesn't even know how much to give him! That's why I gave you that job!"

Haru ignored her mother's words and slowly moved her hands to Gajeel's shoulders, her attention going to Levy. The blue haired girl was surprised how much strength the blind girl had as she held Gajeel down better than Levy was able to do. "Ok, so now Levy, I want you to count five seconds in your head when you pour the sedative into his mouth. Five seconds is going to be more than enough time to give him enough of a dose to keep him knocked out for a while."

"How am I going to be able to get him to drink this for five seconds?!" Levy said worriedly. She watched him whip his head back and forth as he attempted to free himself from being pinned down.

Haru shrugged her shoulders. "You have to try and do it quickly."

Levy looked at the sedative bottle in her hand then back to Gajeel. She quickly thought of a way to give Gajeel the sedative the most effective way without wasting any if she were to miss his mouth while pouring it into his mouth. The blue haired girl quickly brought the bottle to her lips and sipped it for five seconds, making sure she did not swallow a drop. The girl set the bottle down and moved her hands to either side of Gajeel's face.

She closed her eyes tightly as she pressed her lips to his, quickly forcing the sedative into his own mouth and making sure he swallowed it all. The unconscious and flailing man settled down quickly as the strong sedative began to work its magic on Gajeel. His eyes closed as his expression softened back up. The pregnant woman lifted herself upright a moment later, her eyes wide with surprise. "Well… I wouldn't have ever thought to do that…"

Levy slowly moved her lips away from Gajeel's as she heard the woman's words enter her ears. Her cheeks turned red as she stood up straight, her hazel eyes shifted away from the man she just kissed. "I… I didn't know what else to do and I didn't want to waste any of the sedative…"

The woman chuckled as she quickly went to work on the open wound. "Hey I'm not complaining or judging you, sweetheart. I'm just saying I've never thought of trying that before. That was some quick thinking on your part."

Haru stood up straight as well and smiled. "See mother? Sometimes a stranger's way of thinking can help us in these situations."

Levy looked to the woman who had already started to stitch Gajeel's chest back up carefully. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?"

The pregnant woman smiled as she kept her blue eyes on her work. "Henry didn't tell you two before you left the castle?"

Levy looked to Lily who shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "No… he didn't. He only told us to come here if we absolutely needed to."

"Hmph. Sounds like my husband." She said with a smile. "Always forgetting the little details. My name is Clarrisa."

"Well, Clarrisa… I just wanted to thank you for saving Gajeel's life." Levy said softly.

"Heh… don't thank me just yet girly. We've got a long way to go before you should start thanking me." Clarrisa said quickly.

"Yes, I know that… but I still wanted to thank you for trying." Levy said as she looked back at Gajeel's expression. He looked like he was suffering silently as he gritted his teeth and crossed his studded brows. Levy once again couldn't help but feel sorry for him. All she could do now was stand there and watch over him. The blue haired girl felt completely useless in her current state, but knew she had to stay positive.

Haru reached a hand out and touched Levy's shoulder lightly. "Are you sure you don't want to get cleaned up a bit? You can come right back here."

Levy smiled at the blind girl standing beside her. "Thanks, but I'll be fine. I'll get cleaned up once I know the worst of this mess is over."

Haru smiled back as her clouded eyes stared straight ahead. "Mother, I'll be back in a bit. I'm going to make sure Nobu and Nana haven't run off and hid again."

Levy watched the blind girl leave the room with her hands at her sides, stopping at the door for a second before reaching her hand down. Levy watched her in confusion for a moment before she saw a large dog walk right up to the girls' hand, putting his nose into it to let her know he was there at her side. Haru slid her hand over the dogs muzzle and back over his head, reaching for a long thick rope tied around his neck. The blue haired girl watched as Haru was led away by the large animal down the hall in search of her siblings. Hazel eyes shifted back to Gajeel, her concerned thoughts thinking of one thing. '_Please be ok… Gajeel….'_

* * *

**AN: so… I will say this…. I did want to stop the chapter just as they got to Clarrisa's house and have what happened next go in the next chapter, but then I was like.. nah… just add it to this one. That way I can do a little time skip after I write the first part of the next chapter.**

**Couple of things:**

**The twins mentioned above, Nobu and Nana, are named after my favorite ship of Nana+. When I was watching the show, I so badly wanted those two together buuuut… it didn't happen. And since I like to name OC's sometimes after my favorite anime characters, I thought, what better way to use Nobu and Nana's names then for the twins?!**

**Also, Haru is named after the BigBang song, Haru Haru. One because I love that song and two… well… for anyone who has watched the music vid or listened to it and know what its about… you'll see why I named her Haru. I decide to make her blind because that is one of my biggest fears in life. Going blind. I already don't have very good eyesight, being in glasses or having to wear contacts ever since I was young has been quite annoying and I feel that my eyesight just worsens as time goes on. And I've often thought about going blind. And it scares me. So I wanted to make a strong female character who would be blind and have a seeing eye dog who is going to be her best friend. And I thought to myself, why stop there? Why not make the dog like the one I just lost a few months ago, but change it up a bit? Heidi was never a service dog, but she was my best friend and one who I could count on to do anything I asked of her. so in the next chapter, I will be describing more of what the characters I mentioned above look like and of course, the dog as well.**

**Anywhos! I hope you all enjoyed this intense chapter and I can't wait to get to the next one! Definitely don't know when it'll be up but please review, fav, follow, etc. and feel free to PM me with anything! I will always respond! :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Chapter 14**

**Ok so… here's my story…**

**As many of you know, we had to put my dog down in January… and over the months, I got better, started to heal and whatnot, but as the end of November came around the corner, I started to realize… this was going to be the first Christmas without my pup. The first xmas that I wasn't going to be able to buy her a busy bone and new toy, the first holiday I wasn't going to be able to "torture" her with xmas tree lights or decorations, ask her what time it was and get an excited bark back that it was xmas time. It was hard going over to my parents house for dinner and seeing presents under the tree but no nosy dog searching through them all to scope out her presents. And so, I got very depressed while I was by myself at home, or even at work (But I can hide it better at work being around so many animals)**

**I was planning on not doing anything this Christmas besides feed the horses in the morning and celebrate the holiday with my fiancé in the morning, but… other things happened as well. I ended up dislocating my shoulder (for the 5****th**** time… last time happened 6yrs ago) so great. Can't write/type with one hand, let alone my less dominant hand! Ugh… luckily, the dr massaged it back into place and I couldn't believe how well it's been recovering! O.O I've had zero pain and more mobility vs when they would jerk my arm back into place. So I went the dr 3 days after the accident and he said, take the sling off and start physical therapy. And I was like sweet! I can write and work on my stories while I'm out! I've got so much time on my hands I'll be so bored so this will be perfect!... yeah no. I was still depressed. (mind you this happened on dec. 10****th**** with xmas a few weeks away) So, for all of these weeks I've been trying. I can't tell you how many times a day I would open my computer to work on my stories, anything really, and I just stared at the screen. I had no motivation to do anything, I didn't want to play any games or draw. Needless to say, December wasn't a very good time for me. I'm usually one all for xmas, super excited and always wake up in the wee hours of the morning of because I'm so excited but this year… all I wanted to do was stay in bed and do nothing.**

**Thankfully, my fiancé took me to both of our parents houses and it was a nice distraction being around family because for a little while, I forgot about the pain and emptiness I felt. I mentioned this to MsKtk the day or two before that I was upset and was surprised she had called me xmas night to see how I was. **

**I guess what I'm trying to say is one, I'm so grateful for my family and friends. I wish I had said something sooner but that's just how I am. I bottle everything up and keep it to myself until I explode with every single emotion known to man. Lol I cannot express how much my family and friends mean to me. For those of you who are struggling in life, please turn to them if you can. They can be more help to you than you think. And also two, I am so sorry for delaying posting up a chapter for so long. I've had most of this done for sooooo long! It was annoying lol but as I got towards the end, which some of you can probably tell where I was stuck at, I wasn't liking what I had written so I got stuck and gave up for a while. Finally I decided to scrap what I had and just write something else, so it's probably rushed at the end. But whatever. If I want, I can always go back and fix it up later. I really feel like I should have gotten something up for you guys since it's been so long. I swear I haven't abandoned this story or my others, there's just been a lot on my plate lately. And sadly this is going to be a short chapter, but hopefully you all will still like it? **

**I'm looking forward to getting more chapters done soon! So please continue to read them as they come out and check out my new LoLu story, Contract. **

****Side note, I also named the dog in the story, Rudger, after my pup. Her name was Heidi Von Rudger so I thought about making this dog a male and using her official last name as his first. I tried to describe the coloring on Rudger how Heidi looked so hopefully everyone gets what I was trying to bring across lol (never described an animal besides a centaur)**

**And please excuse any mistakes I have made!**

* * *

Hisui slid her hands across her dresser, knocking off everything on top of it as she yelled in frustration. "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!" The green haired woman turned to face her soldiers. "AND WHERE IS GENERAL DREYAR?!"

The nervous soldiers shook in their places, both looked to each other before one finally spoke. "We're not sure how all of this happened, princess, but General Dreyar is with Mystogan being treated after a lacrima went off in front of him. His wounds are severely—"

"I DON'T CARE! BRING HIM TO ME!" She yelled, causing the men to straighten their forms. The steamed woman pointed a finger to the men as she walked over to them. "And find out who let those prisoners out, and bring them to me!"

The men both nodded at their princess before turning on their heels and left the room quickly, closing the door behind them. Hisui waited a moment after the soldiers left the room before turning into a puff of smoke, leaving the two identical spirits floating in the air.

"This isn't good Mini." Gemi said.

"Master Angel is going to be very mad at us that we didn't get the heart of that centaur." Mini responded.

They both moved their limbs in unison in various directions as they spoke together. "Piri-piri."

"And you are exactly correct!" A voice said from behind the celestial spirit. Angel quickly and angrily grabbed the two spirits by their small legs, holding them both upside down as she continued. "You insolent and incompetent spirits!"

Angel could see the panic in both of the spirits as they hung upside down, still moving their free limbs as they spoke. "It wasn't our fault Master Angel!" Gemi responded quickly.

"Yes! Someone disrupted everything while we were trying to carve out that heart you wanted!" Mini chimed in.

Angel glared at the spirits as she threw them up against the wall. "Excuses!" The blue spirits fell to the ground after hitting the wall hard. Their small bodies landed next to one another, and as they weakly looked back up to their master, Gemi and Mini both shook in fear. Fear because they have failed their unmerciful master. She was making her way over to them slowly. "And you remember what I do to useless spirits who have nothing but excuses, don't you?"

Gemini quivered as they looked up to Angel, their heads nodding in unison as they spoke. "Yes… Master Angel… we know…"

The white haired woman's lips curled into a wicked smile as she knelt down towards the spirits. "Good. Then you know what you have to do to fix this little mistake." Her eyes grew darker as her smile quickly faded. "And I suggest you work quickly. You know I don't like to be kept waiting." Angel watched as Gemini nodded once more, their bodies still shaking in fear as she stood and walked away, disappearing just as quickly as she came.

Mini was first to stand and to speak. "Why must we do all of her dirty work? This master is always so unfair to us."

Gemi stood beside his other half. "I know, Mini, but what choice do we have? She has our key, and we have to follow any instruction our master gives to us."

A knock on the door caused the two spirits to become one, changing into the form of the princess once more. Freed entered the room a moment later, his hand at the hilt of his sword as his other rested at his side. His eye looked right to the standing princess as he walked up to her. The man stopped a few feet away from the woman and bowed slightly. "Princess, forgive the intrusion."

"Speak quickly. I am not in the mood to deal with apologies for pointless disruptions." Hisui said.

"Right." Freed began. "We have caught the man who we think is responsible for the release of the prisoners and the main culprit of the attack in the great hall."

Large green eyes lit up quickly at Freed's words. "Bring him in! I want to look upon this man."

Freed looked to the door, his head motioning for the other guards to bring forth the man they caught. The other two men brought in a limp body of a man they had subdued. They dropped Henry at the princess's feet roughly, causing the man to groan in pain as he hit the cold ground. The beaten man weakly looked up to the princess, fear starting to show in his eyes. "Princess, I—"

"Silence!" Hisui said quickly. "I have no need for your explanation. Just tell me, soldier… are you the one who released the prisoners?"

"We found him trying to free the red centaur that we had imprisoned in another cell. He would have gotten him free had we not found him when we did." Freed said quickly.

Hisui kept her green eyes on Henry as he looked back at her. "So you only half succeeded."

Henry mustered up his courage as he spoke. "What you are doing to those creatures, what you have planned for them… it wasn't right! They were innocent!"

Hisui's green eyes glared down at the man as she put her hands on her hips. "I seem to vaguely remember a certain soldier returning with an injured leg a while back… all thanks for a certain _creature_."

"Yes, it's true… I was injured by one of them… but the red one saved me more than once! He doesn't deserve any of this! Please, just let him go… take my life in return for his." Henry begged.

Hisui let out a laugh for a long minute before she finally spoke. "Oh… don't worry… I've already started to think of a fate worse than death for that centaur."

"What… what do you mean?" Henry asked nervously.

"Why should you care?" Hisui said as she glared down at the man. "You won't be alive much longer to find out what shall become of him." Green eyes looked to Freed. "Take him away. And…" The princess grinned wickedly as her eyes looked back to the man on the floor. "Send a message to his family… you know I want it sent. Feel free to let the dogs have some fun with him first. When you're done, bring me that red centaur. And summon _him_ for me."

Freed bowed his head once more as he spoke. "Yes, princess. As you wish." The green haired mage snapped his fingers to the men with him, signaling them to pick the beaten man back up.

"No! Please!" Henry started. "Please, promise me you won't hurt him! Or my family! I'm begging you! Please leave them be!"

Hisui turned and went to her dresser as the men left her chambers. Her hands went down to the hard wood as her eyes looked right into the mirror in front of her. Black beady eyes stared back at her in the glass as she frowned. "We have to gain the upper hand again…" A toothy grin came over her lips. "And what better way to do that then to use their own comrade against them?"

* * *

It was late into the night before Clarrisa had finally finished stitching up Gajeel and Levy's side. The woman let out a breath as she stood up from her stool, whipping her sweaty brow with the back of her arm. "That should about do it. You're lucky I saw that wound when I did. Had you bled out any more, you probably would have passed out from blood loss."

Levy lowered her raised arm back down to her side. She was quite thankful that the piece of lacrima didn't do too much damage to her side and was glad Clarissa took the time to stitch her up as well as Gajeel. "I'm sorry for bringing you so much trouble."

The pregnant woman waved her hand, dismissing Levy's concern. "Please, it was actually nice being able to take are of someone else. Heaven knows how long I've been out of work due to the baby." Clarissa rubbed her clean hand over her swollen stomach as she smiled. "Don't get me wrong, having time off from sewing up wounds or mending to broken bones and fevers is nice… but when I'm forced to stay at home by my own daughter, things tend to get a bit boring after a while!"

Haru entered the room as her mother finished speaking, her brows lifted as she spoke. "You are also eight months into your pregnancy. We don't need anything else crazy to happen to cause you to go into labor early."

Clarissa looked at her blind daughter with a smile as she waved her hand in the air once more. "You worry too much. Just like your father." Clarissa pointed her index finger into the air as she turned her attention over to Gajeel who was passed out on the bed. "You both seem to forget I can handle myself and I know my limits."

Haru shut her eyes as she sighed. "Stubborn as ever, mother." Clear eyes opened and looked straight ahead. "If you don't need anything else, I'm going to go ahead and set up a bed for Levy in my room."

Clarissa turned slightly to respond to her daughter. "Why don't you have the twins help you?"

Haru crossed her arms over her chest. "Those two brats have passed out in their own room shortly after our guests arrived. Besides, it's very late into the night, mother. I'll just have Rudger help me."

The pregnant woman sighed as she spoke. "I know you won't listen to me if I tell you to just wait for some help, so I'm not going to argue." Clarissa eyed the large dog beside Haru as she raised a brow. "You make sure you help her."

Haru smiled as she reached down to the dog at her side. "He always does." Levy watched as the large dog lifted its muzzle to look up at the girl, a soft whimper escaping him as she ran her hand over his head in between his large ears that stuck up straight into the air. Levy could see the dogs' large size and intimidating body structure. It was well built and kept at a healthy looking weight. Its coat was black and tan, with a bit of cream colored fur around the front of its neck that ran down to its belly and on the inside of its limbs. It's mostly tanned fur coat had black starting at the back of its neck and stretched all the way back down to the tail. The black color seemed to stretch down its mid-section into a saddle like pattern on both sides. The dogs face had a small black fur mask around its muzzle and up around its auburn colored eyes with the sandy tan color covering the rest of its face and ears.

Levy watched as the pair left the room. "That dog… it seems very faithful to Haru…"

Clarissa smiled as she ran a dry rag over Gajeel's' sweating forehead. "He always has been. Ever since they both were young. Before Haru lost her sight, she found Rudger as a puppy." The pregnant woman let out a soft laugh as she shook her head slightly. "I can still remember the look on both of their faces as Haru tried so hard to hold that large puppy up in her arms. Both of their brown eyes pleading with me and her father. She begged us to keep him, saying he didn't have a family anymore. When I asked her how she knew that, Haru simply looked at me and told me he told her so. I guess you can say they've always been able to understand each other. As much as I didn't want to believe their special bond, it's definitely apparent."

"When did Haru lose her sight?" Levy asked as she turned her head back to the woman standing at the large man's bedside.

Clarissa's smile faded quickly. "She was in a riding accident… all I know is that she was brought home by Rudger. I was outside hanging our clothes when I saw him pulling her along with a stick that she held onto. I didn't realize what had happened to her sight until I got close to her." The woman shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to tell so much. It's very unlike me to talk to a stranger so easily." The smile that faded came back to her lips. "But as you can see, the two are inseparable and are doing just fine now."

Levy could see there was more to Clarissa's story about her oldest daughter, but knew it was rude to press further. She had already done so much for her and Gajeel. It didn't seem right to ask more questions. The blue haired girl stood up as she held onto her side with a hand, her head throbbing from the wound she received from Laxus. "Well, I suppose I could go help Haru set up a bed for me instead of just sitting here. Which way to her room?"

"You should really just sit there for a bit longer. Haru can take care of the bed." Clarrisa said quickly.

Levy raised a hand and shook her head slightly. "Please, let me help out. And I'm going to be more than willing to help you all out in a day or two… seeing how we're going to be stuck here for a while…" Hazel eyes shifted towards Gajeel who stirred lightly in his sleep. "It's the least I can do for everything you have done for us."

The pregnant woman smiled as she eyed Levy. "Another stubborn one. Alright, fine. Haru is down the hall to the right. And I'll give you a couple of days before I ask for any help around the farm."

Levy smiled and nodded her head lightly. "Thank you so much." Her lips lost part of the smile she put on her face as she looked to Gajeel once more. Worry was still filling her as she watched him. She could tell he was in pain, even with the ointment he had over and around his chest wound. She was worried that he wasn't going to pull through, even though Clarissa had assured her he was going to be just fine. As she left the room, she shook her head and clenched her free fist, determination coming over her mind. '_No. I have to have faith he's going to pull through. In between helping Clarissa around the house and farm… I'll make sure he's doing alright as well. That's what I decided to do.'_ Levy smiled as she felt her worry begin to fade slowly. She was determined to see him get better.

The blue haired girl made her way down the short and tiny hall until she came upon a door on the right. Her hazel eyes looked into the small room where Haru had just finished setting up a bed on the floor. She watched as Haru praised Rudger as she took off his rope from around his neck, setting it aside and giving his thick neck another rub down. The large dog jumped up slightly to lick the girls' cheek, fully enjoying her praise. Levy's eyes widened as Haru spoke after Rudger had calmed down some. "I see my mother told you where to find my room."

"What?" Levy asked quickly. "Oh, yes. I was hoping to come help you make a bed for me, but I guess wasn't fast enough!"

Haru smiled as she spoke. "My mother often forgets that I've been blind for a long time and know how to do things myself."

The blue haired girl made her way over to the makeshift bed on the floor and knelt down on the soft fabric. She could feel that there was extra padding laid down for her because of her wound at her side. "I don't think she forgets… looks just like an overprotective mother to me."

Haru laughed lightly. "She doesn't like to admit it, but she is quite protective of us all. Even more so of me ever since we found out about my body."

Levy raised a brow as she looked to the girl sitting on the edge of her bed. "Are you referring to your eyesight?"

Haru shook her head slowly. "No. Not that. She didn't tell you?"

"No… and I didn't think it was right of me to ask either. I'm still technically a stranger staying in your house." Levy said half-jokingly.

Haru smiled softly. "Well Rudger hasn't shown any aggression towards any of you, so to me, you are kind people and not strangers at all." Haru shifted her head slightly when she felt the large dogs' warm head lay gently on her lap. Her hand came up and rubbed his fur lightly. "We found out shortly after I had lost my eye sight… that my body is failing. Well, it's more so what's up here…" Haru said as she lifted a finger up to her head. Levy watched her intently as she took back the hand that was petting Rudger and reached up to the wrap around her head. Hazel eyes went wide as Haru untied the fabric and let it fall down behind her. She kept her smile as she looked out in front of her, letting Levy take in the sight before speaking once more. "I have an incurable illness in my head… and it's not only caused me to lose my sight, but it's caused me to lose all of my hair."

Levy was letting Haru's words soak in before confusion came over her. "Wait… but I thought your mother said you had a riding accident? Didn't you lose your sight because of that?"

Haru lowered her head slightly, her blank eyes looking right into Rudger's chocolate brown eyes. "I didn't tell my mother this… but I had already started to lose my sight before I even got on the horses back. It was subtle… and it was happening slowly as I grew older. One day, I was angry with my parents… so I decided to go for a ride on my horse. While we were riding through the woods, my horse spooked and I fell off. I ended up hitting the side of my head on a rock and was out for hours. Rudger was at my side the whole time until I became conscious again. He led me home with a stick and so I just used the accident as an excuse to why my sight was gone. But the damage was already done. The accident just kinda sped things up a bit. It was when I was in my teen years did the illness finally start to claim my hair and slowly, but eventually, it will claim my life."

Levy could feel her heart sink for the girl sitting on the bed. She couldn't believe that such a thing could happen to such a kind hearted person. "I'm… I'm so sorry."

Haru lifted her head and looked in Levy's direction. "Don't feel sorry for me. If anything, I would want everyone around me to enjoy what time I have left with me. If we waste time feeling sorry for ourselves or each other, then how will we be able to move on in the future or after death? Harboring these sad feelings in our hearts are more of a burden to our health. Don't get me wrong, there are days that I do break down and let grief take over… but after I let it out, I feel so much better about my situation. Not to mention, I want people to remember me and how I lived. Not how I left the world. So if you could, please don't feel bad for me, just enjoy life and the time we all have left in the world."

Levy reached out for the covers beneath her. "Can I ask you something?" Hazel eyes watched Haru nod her head before continuing. "Do you fear death? I mean… being blind would scare me to no end, but… knowing that you are not going to be here for as long as you wanted… isn't that frightening? Knowing you can go at any time?"

"Life isn't certain. Neither is death. I choose not to fear it because if I gave into that fear, I wouldn't be living my life the way I wanted to. Death was said to be something scary and to be feared, but really… it brings life not just despair. People seem to forget that a lot these days. Not to mention, if we fear death, there wouldn't be heroes in the world. So, I would say, no. I do not fear it. And when it comes time for me to leave this world, I will be ready." Haru said seriously.

Levy laid down after a long minute, her mind mulling over Haru's words. Although the young girl wasn't entirely sure if she believed what Haru had said about death, she wasn't about to entirely dismiss what she had said. Maybe there was some truth to her words that only Haru knew because she was facing death on a daily basis? Hazel eyes slowly began to close as Levy everything that had happened that day sink in finally. She was tired and the nagging pain in her side and on her head was making it difficult for her to focus on sleep. '_I can't keep thinking about all of this right now… I need rest after everything that happened. I can start worrying about what's going to happen to us tomorrow. Right now… all I want… is sleep….'_

* * *

**CoSmO333: lol yes, I wanted lily and levy to kick some ass and we will find out Gajeel's reaction in the next chapter! :) can't wait to write it!**

**kurahieiritr JIO: I wanted so badly for levy to get past the weak and feeble character type because in that situation, where it's like you gotta act now or nothing… I feel like she would be one of those people who would rush in without thinking lol and that part where levy "sedates" Gajeel is something I wanted to do since the beginning of the story! XD so I'm glad I got to use that idea haha it'll come in handy for later chapters ;)**

**piranha pk: yeeesss! Life-saving kisses for the win! And omg I loved the Air manga chapter and episode, one of my faves for sure! And thank you so much for enjoying the last chapter! ( if this one disappoints, I am sorry! I promise they will get better!)**

**sassykitten1701: I would like to get chapters posted up once a week after this. I'm going to try hard to keep to a new schedule for my stories! :)**

**Takiarika: aww, thank you! ^_^ like I said, I named them after my two fav. Characters in Nana. But yes, it is important that I named them…. For later chapters…. *insert evil laugh***


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Chapter 15**

**Ok so I'm super sorry I didn't get this done sooner guys… but a lot has happened. And it was nothing really good. I've been away from my computer to help support my best friend MsKtk in her time of loss. I've been trying to keep her distracted along with our other friends' help so I have neglected writing altogether. I had most of this chapter done a while ago, but little by little, I was able to get this done finally. I'm sorry if I missed any mistakes (there might be a lot this time since I didn't read the whole thing over) I'm tired and don't feel like rereading it lol**

**CoSmO333: Thank you so much. You guys have been so supportive and great readers/reviewers, I don't know how else to thank you guys. It means so much to me that you all haven't given up on waiting for new chapters to come out lol that's always one of my fears that my readers will wait too long and just abandon reading the stories I am working on. That, and when I am down, all I have to do is read your reviews and see the love and support not only for my story but for me as well. You all are so awesome! Hugs all around!**

**kurahieiritr JIO: Oh yes… all the bad things lol but I'm not gonna tell ya which bad things are gonna happen. There will be heartbreaking moments that will happen in either the next chapter or in chapter 17.. I haven't decided just yet :) **

**Rab Shadow: haha thank you so much! I hope you like this one as well… even if nothing really happens until the end! Mwahahaha!**

* * *

Gajeel groaned as he stirred. '_What the hell… what's going on?'_

Crimson eyes opened slowly, trying to adjust quickly as a dark figure leaned in close. They shot open quickly as the figures face came into view. It was the crazed princess with a deranged look across her wicked face. The man lifted his arms in attempts to stop the crazed princess from getting any further to him. Gajeel could feel the cold metal around his wrists, stopping his moments in seconds. He clenched his jaw as he looked to the side, eying the confinements he was currently in.

'_Why am I chained down like this?! How the hell did I end up here?!_' He thought to himself as his mind raced.

"You have nowhere to escape… you are mine now…."

Gajeel turned his head to look at the princess as she spoke. Her lips were curling into a crooked smile as her hand lifted up the knife to use on his chest to carve out his heart. Fear was entering the centaur as he squirmed under her as she moved the sharp blade closer to his skin. The dark haired man shut his eyes tightly, waiting to feel the stabbing feeling once more….

Gajeel's eyes shot open as he gasped. His hand instinctively reached out and grabbed the one thing touching his stitched up wound as he sat up swiftly. He groaned in pain as he quickly brought his free hand to his skin. A hiss left his lips as he looked down with tired eyes, looking over the uncovered area on his chest. Confusion came over him as he saw some weird salve halfway painted across the stitches.

Crimson eyes followed his stretched out arm to his hand, curious to see who he was still holding onto. His eyes narrowed as he looked upon a simple looking girl at his bedside. She was raising a brow… but why was she staring straight ahead and not at him? She didn't look one bit phased that he had a tight grip on her wrist. She simply waited.

"Who the hell are you?" Gajeel asked with a weak voice, the pain in chest from the sudden movement starting to register in his mind.

Haru smiled as she spoke. "My name is Haru. I'm the daughter of Henry and Clarrisa and I'm currently tending to your wound. Well, I was anyway…" The blind girl waited a moment for Gajeel to realize he was still holding onto her wrist tightly. "Do you mind letting me go so I can finish this up?"

Gajeel let out a huff as he released the girl from his grip. His head turned off to the side as Haru reached down for the small jar on the bed. He was taking in the smells and sights around the room until he heard her speak again.

"I need you to lay back down so I can get the whole area." The dark haired man turned his head slowly to the girl, wondering who she thought she was giving him demands like that. Before he could respond, Haru quickly added one word. "Please."

Gajeel scoffed as he stared at her for another minute. He didn't like to be told what to do, but knew if he didn't comply… she probably would just leave him in this state instead of finishing up the job she was trying to do. The large man on the bed laid back down reluctantly, his head looking in the other direction, eying the rest of the room he was in. Crimson orbs widened as his whole body became tense suddenly. A large black and tan dog was staring right at him intently.

Haru could sense the tension quickly and spoke softly to the man she was tending to. "Don't worry. Rudger isn't going to do anything to you." A smirk curled across her lips as she continued. "That is, unless I want him to do something."

"No offense…" Gajeel said as he kept his eyes on the statue like dog. "But I ain't keeping my eyes off that thing."

"Rudger is not a thing… he a respectful member of the family and my friend." Haru with a matter of fact tone of voice.

A scoff escaped Gajeel once more. "Whatever. To me… they are all the same."

Levy entered the room a second later, her arms full of new bandages to use for Gajeel's chest wound. Her face lit up as she saw the large man awake on the bed. "Gajeel!" The small girl ran over to his side, setting the bandages down on the bed. "How are you feeling? Did you just wake up?"

Crimson orbs looked to the blue haired girl. "Why are you so concerned about me? Don't you remember I'm not a normal human like you? I can heal faster."

Haru raised a brow as she turned towards Levy. "What is that supposed to mean? Is he trained in the ways of healing magic?"

Levy laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. "Well… no… he's not. He just thinks he can heal faster than other humans! He's so stubborn he doesn't like to sit in one place for too long!" Levy looked to Gajeel and gave him a look, telling him to not speak further.

Haru let out a laugh as she finished applying the salve to Gajeel's chest. "Typical man for you there. I honestly don't know how you have put up with him for years, Levy!"

Levy let out another small laugh. "Heheh… yeah… our friendship is a funny one." Levy watched as Haru motioned for Rudger to her side after she wiped her hand free of the ointment she had applied. She watched as the two left the room, leaving her to finish up the job of taking care of the annoyed man on the bed. The blue haired girl let out a sigh as she hung her head slightly. "Man that was close…"

Hazel eyes shifted up some only to catch crimson orbs staring right at her. She hadn't noticed Gajeel sitting up again as Haru left the room. She let out a small gasp at the sudden closeness.

"So we're friends now? And what's the big idea sayin' I'm human?!" Gajeel snapped.

Levy shrugged her shoulders as she blushed slightly. "Well… you technically are… human…"

Gajeel raised a studded brow as he stuck out his bottom lip. He looked a Levy for what seemed like eternity to her. His crimson eyes moved down to his arms, instantly eyeing the leather bracelet around his wrist. Gajeel's jaw dropped slightly as he let his eyes widen. His hands quickly moved to the blanket that was covering his legs. They lifted the warm fabric right off, revealing his naked lower human half. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

Levy's pink blush turned bright red as she turned her whole body away from Gajeel, trying desperately not to think about what was underneath that blanket… not that she had already seen it when she brought him to Clarrisa in the first place. "Gajeel!"

Not really caring about who saw what, Gajeel growled as he took hold of Levys' arm, turning her back around to face him as he pulled her in close. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

The blue haired girl shut her eyes quickly as she pushed against the large shoulder attached to the man on the bed, attempting to free herself from his tight grip. "Did you seriously forget everything that happened to you a few days ago?! I didn't do anything to you but save you! And you're still in that human form because it would be easier to hide that little fact that you aren't really human!"

Gajeel instantly loosened his grip at her words. '_She… saved… me? But… how?'_

Seeing that his grip had loosened, Levy took back her arm and turned back around, the blush still across her cheeks as she spoke. "Henry and I were freeing everyone from the cells a few nights ago when we were in the castle… when I learned that you and Natsu were captured there too… I couldn't leave without helping you guys out. Henry went for Natsu, and Lily and I went in search of you."

Gajeel moved his head to the front of his body, his eyes still wide as what had happened started to slowly flood his mind. _'That's right… we were captured…'_

The blue haired girl looked down at her fingers as she continued. "We were about to make our way to the princess's chambers when we heard you cry out in pain…" Levy slowly moved her hands up her arms as she spoke. "The image of that woman carving that knife through your chest still sends shivers down my spine. I could see that you had been hurt all over… and that there was no way for you to get out on your own… not while you were being held in those chains. I honestly don't know if I was even thinking clearly when I set off those smoke bombs and went in to save you at that moment… I just knew I couldn't let you die there… not after everything you've done for me…"

'_Damn her…'_ Gajeel thought as he hung his head and shielded his eyes with his dark bangs. "I haven't done nothin' for you or anyone else…so you shouldn't have saved me…"

Levy turned around quickly and slammed her hands on the bed. "What are you talking about?! Of course you did!"

"Do you even know why I was there in that castle?" Gajeel said in response.

"You were there to save everyone…" Levy said with a slight smile. "Right?"

Gajeel clenched his fist tightly as he hesitated to speak. "I was only there for Lily. I didn't care about anyone else… and now look at me… stuck in this weak form…. That idiot just had to go off on his own…"

The blue haired girl looked at Gajeel for a long minute before reaching a hand up to his shoulder. "Gajeel—"

The large man quickly smacked her touch away. "Don't touch me!"

Levy immediately snapped back as she leaned forward slightly. "I have to touch you to put new wraps around your wound!"

The dark haired man puffed out his chest as he too snapped back at the girl. "Well then hurry up and do your damn job! When you're done, I want you out of my sight!"

"Fine!" Levy said angrily. As Levy picked up one end of the wraps, her eyes moved away from Gajeel for a second. They traveled down the rest of the bed as the man adjusted himself into a better position for her to work. Her angry expression changed quickly as a blush came over her face. She didn't know how she could had forgotten that the blanket was still off his lower half.

Levy coughed as she turned her embarrassed gaze up and away. "Can… can you please cover yourself up before I do this? It's already awkward enough as it is…"

Gajeel raised a brow as he looked back at Levy. "You know you wouldn't have to look at what's between my legs if you would just change me back to a centaur."

Levy shut her eyes tightly as she spoke with agitation. "I haven't told them about you yet! It was hard enough explaining Lily to them! Will you just cover up?!"

Gajeel smirked as he reached out and pulled the girls arm once more, making her head snap towards his as he drew her in quickly. He loved hearing that surprised gasp from her lips. It somehow brought amusement to the man. "You mean to tell me you ain't curious what's between my legs? I may be a centaur… but I know how humans create pleasure for one another…"

The blue haired girl yanked her arm away from Gajeel's hand as she scoffed. "Why do you have to be such a pig?!" Levy threw the white bandages at the naked man and turned on her heels. "You can wrap yourself up!"

Gajeel watched as Levy stormed out of the room with a huff. He knew why he was being this way to her now of all times. He didn't want her to get closer to him, nor did he want to get closer to her. He was determined not to let what his old friend said all those years ago come true. He didn't need to fall in love. And no one needed to love him back.

Crimson eyes went wide as Lily entered the doorway, his lips curled up into a smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Honestly Gajeel… you didn't have to be so mean to that girl. She was only trying to help you."

"Lily…" Gajeel said gruffly. "Is… is it really you? I ain't having some weird dream where you're really dead, am I?"

Pantherlily smiled as he walked over to his friends' bedside, jumping up onto the mattress and planting himself down at Gajeel's side. "Have you gone soft after all this time away from me? The Gajeel I knew wouldn't be this inquisitive."

The dark haired man scoffed as he stuck his nose up into the air. "Yeah right. Me? Gone soft? Now I know you're real. The Pantherlily I knew would always ask me stupid questions like that."

Pantherlily smiled as Gajeel turned his head down to face his old friend, his smirk matching the smile over the satyrs' face. The large man's expression changed quickly as it grew sad of the past thought of his friend. "I thought you were dead. I missed you so much… I thought I was going to completely lose myself over the years…"

Pantherlily stretched out his small arm and placed it onto Gajeels. "I missed you too, Gajeel." The small satyr looked to the loose bandages that were thrown at Gajeel as Levy left the room. He laughed lightly as he pointed to the white pieces of fabric. "Would you like some help with those?"

Gajeel picked up one end of the wraps and handed them to Pantherlily. "Yeah, if you don't mind…" The dark haired man waited for Lily to transform into his larger form before asking his next question. "So what the hell happened? All I can remember is feeling that knife starting to cut through me… after she turned it and started to go into a different direction… I just blacked out. Shrimp told me she saved me with your help… is that true?"

Lily smiled as he started to wrap up Gajeels torso. "Well, Levy did end up saving your life. All I did was get you out of there. She ended up going up against Laxus alone after I left with you."

Gajeel's eyes widened as he turned his head to his friend. "Cut the crap Lily! There ain't no way that little girl was able to take on Laxus herself!"

Pantherlily reached around and pulled at the fabric lightly before pulling it around the front of Gajeels' wound and back around to his back, repeating the process as he spoke. "It's true. Henry gave her special lacrimas that would be able to absorb some of his attacks… but I know she almost lost her life had I not gone back for her. She told me that the last lacrima she was using got too full and had I not come in and knocked it back with Laxus… it would have most likely taken them both out. She suffered minor damage compared to you though."

Gajeel fell silent for a minute before he spoke. "What happened to her?"

"She got a cut on her head from one of his lightning attacks… and I believe Clarissa said Levy had a piece of the lacrimas metal stuck in her side. She was able to get it out and stitch her side up after she was finished with you. Levy is very lucky to be alive along with yourself. You owe your life to that girl." Before the large man could speak, Pantherlily cut him off. "And if I were you, I would go and thank her. _Nicely."_

Gajeel turned his head away from the large satyr and scoffed. "Thank Shrimp… for what? Nearly getting herself killed over me? Yeah I'll make sure I do that sometime…"

Pantherlily lightly poked at Gajeels still tender side, causing him to hiss out in pain. "Gajeel."

The dark haired man gritted his teeth before he spoke. "Alright, alright… I'll go thank her later when I'm ready to…" Silence fell over them both for a long minute. "I've forgotten how pushy you can be…."

Pantherlily smiled as he continued to wrap up Gajeels' wounds. _'It's good to have you back my friend.'_

* * *

Levy stormed out of the house and headed towards the wooden fence outside. She angrily threw her arms up to the top piece of wood and huffed out a puff of air as she put her chin to her arms. Her hazel eyes scanned out to the pasture where the horses grazed as she thought to herself.

'_Stupid Gajeel… once again I try to get closer to him and this is what he does to me... acts like a total perv… not one thank you for helping him get out of that place…'_ The blue haired girl lifted her head and one of her arms as she spoke out loud to herself. "Oh, Levy! I'm so sorry I didn't mention this before! But thank you so much for saving my life! I'm just a stupid fool who doesn't know how to express my thanks!"

Levy gasped as she heard laughter coming from behind her. The small girl quickly turned around to see Haru and Rudger walking up to her. Haru smiled as she stopped right next to her faithful companion. "Is everything ok, Levy? I thought you would finishing up Gajeel's wraps by now."

The small girl sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah well… he was being difficult so I told him he could wrap himself up."

The blind girl let out a laugh once more. "You two are too funny. Well since you are free now… would you like to join us heading into town? I have to get a few things for myself and my mother. I would also like to stop by and see someone else while we are out as well."

Levy smiled and brought her arms down at her side. "That sounds like fun. I'd love to join you guys."

* * *

Hazel eyes went wide as Levy watched the busy town around her. Everyone was talking at once, making it difficult to hear anyone beside you unless you were extremely close to one another. She followed alongside Haru who was being led by her seeing eye dog. Levy's eyes caught the attention of almost everything; the clothes, the food, the people, the tapestry and different fabrics for sale. Even her nose was getting different exciting smells to distract her eyes from staying on the one person who was guiding her through the organized chaos of town.

"Wooow…" Levy said in awe as she turned and started walking backwards slowly. "This town is so lively. I've never seen a town this hectic yet everyone seems to be doing just fine through the craziness."

Haru stopped at a nearby vendor and handed an elderly woman a small amount of money. Levy turned and watched as the older woman smiled and spoke with Haru. It was as if they had known each other for such a long time the way they smiled and talked with each other. Instead of handing the small bag of produce to the girl standing in front of her, the elderly woman stood up and walked out from her tent. She made her way over to the smiling service dog that was wagging his tail lightly as the woman approached him.

The old woman lifted up the leather pouch cover on Rudger's back and gently placed the bag inside. She closed the flap and tied it back down before walking back around to the front of the large dog. She muttered some words only Rudger could hear as she rubbed his head gently. The large animal was pleased with her sign of compassion that he in return licked her wrinkled hand as she took it back slowly.

Levy continued to watch as the woman put a hand on Haru's arm, said a few words, and then made her way back to her chair behind her stand. Levy started to move her feet the moment Haru had picked up the rope around Rudgers' neck and headed in the same direction they had been going. '_Even Haru has no difficulties getting through this mess of a town with Rudger.' _Levy thought to herself.

The three had made their way around to different vendors and had filled up the leather bags on either side of Rudgers body. Levy was finishing up tying up the leather pouch as Haru spoke.

"Just one more stop and then we can head home. Are you ok with that Levy?" She asked.

Levy stood up straight and smiled. "Well seeing how you and Rudger are my guides through town and back home, I would have to be ok with that." Both of the girls let out a laugh.

Their laughter was cut short when Rudger let out an anxious bark as he tugged lightly at the rope around his neck. The blue haired girl watched as Haru stopped walking and started to remove the pouches from the large dogs back, along with the rope from around his neck. She held the bags in one arm and stretched out the other to Levy. "Do you mind leading me for a minute Levy?"

Levy shook her head as she smiled, taking hold of the girls arm with her hands lightly. "Of course. But… why did you take everything off of Rudger?"

Haru smiled as she spoke. "You'll see. Rudger… go get him." Just as Haru had finished her sentence, the dog was off. Hazel eyes watched as the dog rushed past the towns people and headed right for the blacksmiths tent.

Levy looked ahead as she walked Haru down the dirt path, her eyes catching a glimpse of a blacksmith hard at work. Her stomach started to flip as the butterflies inside fluttered at the nearing sight before them.

The blacksmith at work looked rather young, and wasn't lacking in the looks department. He was tall and quite muscular, due to the kind of work he does, it wasn't too surprising. He had black spiky hair with volume and bangs that reached just below his cheeks. His triangle shaped face made his face look longer than it was wider and his smooth jawline look slightly wider than his forehead.

The blue haired girl watched as Rudger let out a warning bark just before he jumped up onto the man at work. The sweaty faced man toppled forward slightly at the sudden push from behind him, but a smile quickly graced his face as he set down his tools and gloves. He turned and leaned down to the dog who was excitedly wagging its tail and twisting its body to look at the blacksmith.

Levy stepped up to the man's tent with Haru, still holding onto her lightly. "It looks like Rudger has another friend in town." She said with a smile. As the man looked up at Levy and Haru, the small girl realized that the man had gorgeous blue eyes, contrasting such dark hair on top of his head. As he stood, Levy could feel those butterflies moving around in her stomach once more. He looked much more handsome as he stood in front of her than from far away. He smiled as he wiped the sweat from his brow with a small rag.

"Yeah, I've known this guy since he was a puppy when Haru first brought him home." He said with a calming voice.

Levy turned her head to Haru as she spoke. "You two… know each other?"

The girl attached to Levy's arm smiled as she looked straight ahead. "Yes. We've known each other since we were kids and have been inseparable since. Isn't that right Zack?"

Zack laughed lightly as he knelt back down to Rudger, his large hands rubbing the side of the dogs' neck. "Yeah, if you call seeing each other twice a week inseparable."

"I keep telling him that we aren't ready to move in with each other so I come out to visit and gather supplies twice a week. But… when we were kids, we would hang out every day for the whole day." Haru said in response.

Zack stood once more and made his way around to the front of his tent with Rudger. He stopped in front of the girls and took the leather bags from the slightly taller girl next to Levy. He smiled as he planted a soft kiss on Harus' cheek a moment later. "And I keep telling you to move in with me here in town so we can see each other every day again. I'm sure your mother and Rudger wouldn't mind. Right buddy?" Zack said as he looked back down to the canine beside him. The large dog barked as he wagged his tail. "See? Even Rudger wants to come live with me."

"And like I said before… until my siblings are able to help around the house… I don't want to leave my mother and her soon to be newborn." Haru said with a slightly stern tone.

Zack laughed lightly and planted another kiss on her cheek. "I know. And I respect that."

"Good. Because if I have to keep reminding you this every time I see you, I might just have to kick your ass." Haru said with a smile.

As Levy and Haru giggled, Zack sighed and hung his head for a second before bringing his head back up with a half-smile. "Well… that is quite true. You can kick my ass without any help." The blacksmith looked back inside his tent to his unfinished work before looking back to Haru. "Say, why don't I come home with you guys tonight? I can help make dinner."

Haru raised a brow as she spoke. "Meaning… you don't have any food at home and want to come help us out so you can mooch off of my family."

Zack laughed lightly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Damn, even though you're blind, you can see right through me!"

Haru thought to herself for a minute before she replied. "You can come home and eat with us… but you have to carry our bags the whole way."

Zack smiled. "Just let me finish up this thing I'm working on and then we can go."

Haru squeezed Levy's arm as she started to turn them both around. "While you are doing that, Levy and I are going to go do more shopping. Make sure you watch Rudger for me as well." She said with a smile as she pulled Levy along, both girls giggling as they walked away from the blacksmith and the large dog.

Zack sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. His blue eyes looked down to Rudger who wagged his tail slowly at the man. "Well… maybe they won't find a lot to bring home with em. One can only hope, right pal?" Rudger barked in agreement as he sat down on his rump, waiting for his master to return.

* * *

Pantherlily tucked in the end of the wrap at Gajeel side before he took a step back. "I need to go get something from the other room. I'll be right back."

Gajeel nodded and watched Pantherlily walk out of the room before turning his head down to the freshly wrapped wound over his chest. His crimson eyes scanned the rest of his human body he was stuck in._ 'Seriously… if they would just let me transform into my other form… I could heal way faster and get out of this dump…'_

The large man's nose sniffed the air as a new scent began to fill it annoyingly. Gajeel snapped his head to the side of the bed and quickly found himself staring into the small brown eyes of a little kid. He raised a studded brow at the small boy. "What do you want?"

"You stink." The small boy said quickly.

Gajeel felt his jaw drop before he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "You little brat! You looking to get beaten?! Caz I ain't afraid to hit a kid!"

The young boy screamed and ran out of the room in fear. Gajeel scoffed as he looked back to his human body. '_Pathetic excuse for a living being…'_ The dark haired man looked down at his fist as he opened it slowly. '_I've become one too…'_

Gajeel shot his head up into the air as he heard a terrified scream come from outside. '_What the hell was that?!_' The dark haired man struggled to get out of the bed. He winced in pain as he moved slowly. '_Damn… even after a few days this still stings like a bitch…' _He reached around to grab the blanket to wrap around his waist and investigate who had just screamed and at what. The weak man made his way down the hallway towards the front of the house. His crimson eyes caught a glimpse of a woman standing, no, hunched over at the doorway. '_What the hell was she doing? Was she the one who screamed?'_

As Gajeel made his way to her slowly, two different smells entered into his nose. One smelling of death and decay… the other he wasn't too familiar with. He raised a studded brow as he was just a few feet away from the hyperventilating woman in the doorway. "Oi… was that you who screamed? What's going on?!" He said angrily.

Clarrisa slowly turned to face Gajeel with tears running down her cheeks. She looked like she had seen something terribly gruesome. The large man noticed her hand cradling her swollen stomach as she turned. "It's… it's Henry!" She managed to get out through her sobs. Gajeel slowly looked away from her to the thing she had been staring at before he had gotten there.

At the doorway was a large burlap sack that was left open for all to see. The large man wince his eyes at the sight. What was left of Henry, was brought to his family. He had been beaten, chewed up, and from the looks of it, tortured until his very last breath. This was not the same man Gajeel and Natsu had talked to and had gotten help from while they were in the castle. This pile of flesh was what was left of the man they knew.

Gajeel quickly turned back to Clarrisa who let out a groan of pain as she slid slower down the side of the doorway. The unfamiliar scent was once again filling his nose. "Hey… is something going on with ya? What the hell is that smell?" He said with annoyance.

Clarrisa looked up to the crimson eyes that stared down at her. "I think… the baby is coming!"

* * *

**AN: Well… things are just looking better and better. Not. Lol**

**I didn't feel like going into gory details of what happened to Henry, so I'm sure you guys can guess that it wasn't good. Lol and I feel kinda bad for killing him off… but… thus is the life of an OC….**


End file.
